Farm income outlook as bleak in 2013 as last year – Teagasc

BY FRANCIS FARRAGHER

FARM leaders have expressed little surprise that farm incomes dropped by 15% in 2012, as revealed in last week’s Teagasc’s National Farm Survey.

The smaller suckler and sheep farmers across the West of Ireland took the biggest hit in income last year, and again most of it comes back to our disastrous weather year in 2012. In addition to the weather, lamb prices actually dropped last year.

And Teagasc are also predicting with the depletion in fodder stocks all over the country so far this year, that there will be negative implications for 2013 farm income.

Lower silage yields allied to poorer quality plus a serious increase in the quantity and cost of meal feeding also ‘bored holes’ in farmers’ cashflow during 2012, a trend that continued through the first four and a half months of this year.

Taking the big with the small, the average farm income in Ireland in 2012 was €25,483, a decrease of 15% from the previous year.

Dairy farmers continue to be the leading earners from farming with an average income of €51,648 but this contrasted starkly with the average income of just €11,743 on cattle rearing farms.

Dr Thia Hennessy, Head of the Teagasc National Farm Survey, said that while agricultural commodity prices remained relatively favourable in 2012, the inclement weather adversely affected production costs and crop yields.

“In particular, dairy farms were impacted by the wet Summer and direct costs of production increased by 21%. Many farmers depleted their stock of Winter fodder early last Autumn and this is likely to have further negative implications for income this year,” said Thia Hennessey.

Teagasc’s Brian Moran said that the survey highlighted large variations that exist across the different farming enterprises.

“The average income on dairy farms was €51,648, compared to just €11,743 on cattle rearing farms,” he said.

According to Teagasc, farming continues to remain highly reliant on direct support payments. The average direct payment per farm was €20,534 comprising 81% of farm income.

The Single Farm Payment –  currently the topic of negotiation in the ongoing Common Agricultural Policy talks – continues to be the most important component of direct payments. It comprises 58% of farm incomes on average and over 80% of income on cattle farms. 

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.