Huge drop in farm incomes revealed in new survey - Kilkenny Farming

The results of a new report confirm a very difficult year for income levels across farm systems in Ireland in 2023.

Dairy and Tillage farms in particular experienced steep reductions in income.
This was largely due to a sharp decline in milk and cereal prices, and lower production volumes, in a period of stubbornly high input prices, exasperated by the bad weather.

Drystock farms also experienced a notable decline in income in 2023.
All farm systems recorded their lowest average incomes in several years.

The decline in Dairy and Tillage farm incomes in 2023 follows on from a year of record incomes in 2022, illustrating yet again the highly volatile nature of farm income in both of these farm systems in Ireland.

Cattle and sheep farms saw the value of output decrease, and with production costs remaining high, incomes on drystock farms in 2023 were notably lower than in 2022.

Collectively this lower price and production volume had a substantial negative influence on the average farm income in Ireland.

The results are representative of almost 85,000 farms in Ireland.

Internationally there was a sharp downturn in dairy commodity prices in 2023, which in turn affected Irish farm milk prices.

Meanwhile, favourable production conditions for cereal crops at the global level led to a global harvest which put downward pressure on international and Irish grain prices.

In 2023, there were some challenging weather conditions in Ireland over the second half of the year, with high levels of rainfall having an adverse impact on tillage yields, grazing conditions and silage production.

Tillage yields were below normal and milk production fell, as cows were dried-off early in the face of low milk margins.

Across the key farm output categories in Ireland, milk and cereal prices performed worst in 2023.

Milk prices were down 28% in 2023 compared to 2022, while cereal prices decreased by 30% to 35%.

Finished cattle prices increased by 4% in 2023, by 7% for weanlings and 5% for store cattle. By contrast, lamb prices decreased by about 3% in 2023.

Dairy system production costs, which rose by over 30% to their highest level in 2022, remained at that record level in 2023.

While the dairy cow population continued to increase in 2023, milk output volume fell by 4%. It resulted in an average dairy farm income of just under €49,500 in 2023, a decrease of 69%, or in excess of €105,000, compared to the 2022 level.

The Sheep system experienced a 5% decrease in the value of farm output on average in 2023, reflecting a combination of lower lamb prices and a lower volume of output. Production costs on the average sheep farm in 2023 remained relatively unchanged, with higher feed expenditure offset by a slight decline in overhead costs.

The full Teagasc National Farm Survey 2023 is available at www.teagasc.ie/publications/2024/Teagasc-National-Farm-Survey-2023.php