A new report from Teagasc showed that farm systems in Ireland, particularly dairy and tillage, saw a steep income reduction in 2023.
The decline was due to a sharp fall in milk and cereal prices and stubbornly high input costs, exacerbated by bad weather.
The average dairy farm income was just under €49,500 in 2023 – a decrease of 69%, or in excess of €105,000 – compared to 2022.
Due to high input costs and lower output, the average tillage farm income went down by 71%, for an average income of €21,400 – €52,000 less than 2022.
All farm systems recorded their lowest average incomes in several years, the report noted.
Teagasc published the results on Tuesday, following the Teagasc National Farm Survey 2023, which is representative of over 85,000 farms in Ireland.
Prices
Internationally, there was a sharp downturn in dairy commodity prices in 2023, which, in turn, impacted Irish farm prices.
Meanwhile, favourable production conditions for cereal crops globally led to a global harvest that put pressure on international and Irish grain prices.
Some challenging weather conditions in Ireland in the second half of the year impacted tillage yields, grazing conditions, and silage production.
Milk prices went down by 28% in 2023, compared to the previous year, while cereal prices decreased by 30% to 35%.
Dairy system production costs had risen by 30% in 2022 and remained at that level for 2023.
In the tillage system, Irish cereal yields were down significantly, compared to 2022, due to the weather – for example, the spring barley crop’s yields per hectare went down by 23%.
Taking into account the income developments across the various farm systems, the average family farm income in Ireland dropped by 57% in 2023, to just under €20,000.
This was largely due to the sharp decline in dairy and tillage incomes in 2023.
Collectively, the two sectors accounted for 53% of farm income last year.
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