CSO reports 1% drop in farm incomes

Farm incomes have dropped by 1 per cent this year, according to a provisional estimate from the Central Statistics Office.

It estimated total farm income was almost €2.22 billion this year, compared with nearly €2.24 billion in 2013.

The CSO found the value of cattle output fell by more than €180 million while there was a drop of €58.4 million in the output on tillage farms.

Irish Farmers' Association president Eddie Downey said the figures "starkly illustrate the disconnect between the increasing contribution of agriculture to the economy and the returns that farmers themselves are receiving".

Mr Downey said the depressing reality was that conditions were right for farmers to generate a good income from their farms this year.

“That farm incomes did not improve in 2014 is almost single-handedly down to the fall in prices farmers received for their products, across almost all sectors, including beef, dairy, pigmeat, cereals and potatoes,” he said.

“Farmers rightly feel aggrieved that their output has contributed in a significant way to Ireland’s economic recovery through the growth in value of agri-food exports and employment growth, but their incomes have remained static over the past three years.”

The estimate comes less than a week after Teagasc predicted a 25 per cent drop in farm incomes next year, and a fall of more than 50 per cent in dairy farm incomes.