Farmers struggle to make ends meet in the west

FARMING continues to be a financial struggle for landowners in the western region due mainly to smaller farm size, poor soils, and an unsuitability for adaptation to the more lucrative dairying enterprise, the latest Teagasc survey results have revealed.

While average farm incomes in the South-East for 2017 came in at just over €47,000, the equivalent figure for the West was 63% less than that, at just under €18,000.

The Teagasc National Farm Survey for 2017 also highlighted the critical importance of direct payments from the EU to the poorer North and West regions, contributing 80% of the total farm income as compared to less than 40% in the South-East.

The survey has also indicated that there is a far greater likelihood of farmers in the western region having off-farm employment than farmers in other parts of the country – in the South-West, less than one in six farmers have an off-the-land job.

A boom year [2017] for dairy farmers is reflected strongly in the national average income for that sector – just over €86,000 – as compared to €15,000+ per annum for the cattle and sheep sectors.

Even where farm sizes and layouts in the West are suitable to embrace dairying, the incomes in Connacht for dairy farmers are far lower than in the South and East of the country.

“The more challenging conditions for farms located in in the Northern and Western regions are evident from the significantly smaller proportion of farms operating on very good soils and the shorter grazing season [a 30-day differential],” the Teagasc Survey concludes.

The farm income from a hectare of land (just under 2.5 acres) is €1,228 in the West and North as compared to just under €1,650 in the East, Midlands and South of the country.

Galway IFA Chairperson, Anne Mitchell, said that the Teagasc survey once again highlighted the difficulties faced by farmers in the Western region due to farm size, land quality plus weather and climate.

“Farming in the West is hugely dependent on direct payments and an off-farm income. Without the direct payments and an off-farm job, most farm families simply wouldn’t survive economically,” she said.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.