Half of all farming households have a job in addition to working on their land, a survey has found.
The Teagasc National Farm Survey for 2003 shows that on half of all farms, the farmer and/or spouse had an off-farm job, compared to 48 per cent in 2002. The highest incidence of off-farm employment was on beef and sheep farms.
Overall, on almost 80 per cent of farms, the farmer and/or the spouse had some other source of income resulting in only 20 per cent of farms being dependent on farming solely for their livelihood.
The survey found an increase of just 0.9 per cent in average farm incomes. Average family farm income in 2003 was €15,054 per farm, compared to €14,917 in 2002.
However, the survey shows that income on full-time farms increased by almost 5 per cent in 2003.
A total of 44,000 farms are classified as full-time and they earned an average income of €29,000 in 2003, compared to €27,700 in 2002.
Just under 10 per cent of farms, or a total of 10,300, had an income from farming in excess of €40,000. Three out of four of these farms were involved in dairy farming.
The survey is based on an analysis of accounts kept on a representative sample of 1,210 farms selected by the Central Statistics Office. The total number of farms represented in 2003 was 114,500. Very small farms are excluded from the survey, as are pig and poultry farms.
Commenting on the results, Mr Liam Connolly, Head of the Teagasc National Farm Survey team, said the 2003 figures again highlight the enormous variation in farm incomes, which creates major difficulties in using one overall average figure to represent the sector.
As in previous years, dairy farming generated the highest returns, with an average income of €30,100, an increase of 7 per cent on 2002. Income from tillage farming averaged €26,282, an increase of 22 per cent on 2002, which was a very difficult year for the tillage sector.
Incomes from sheep farming increased by 4 per cent, to an average of €12,900. This was the fourth consecutive annual increase in sheep incomes.
Beef farming again generated the lowest average incomes. Incomes from beef rearing systems declined by 5 per cent, to an average of €7,300 while income from other beef systems declined by 15 per cent, to an average of €8,100.
For the first time, the 2003 Teagasc survey contains information on the contribution of women to labour on the farm. It shows that, on average, women contribute 13 per cent to total labour input in farming. This ranges from 5 per cent on tillage farms to 14 per cent on dairy farms.