The Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) data for 2014 clearly shows a two-speed sector emerging within Irish agriculture.

In 2014 we had a dairy industry where the marketplace delivered the average farmer, who was running a herd of 70 cows, a viable Family Farm Income (FFI). This was in sharp contrast to all other sectors where, with the exception of tillage, returns from the marketplace failed to make a positive contribution to the FFI.

In a landscape where the constraints of dairy quotas are removed at the same time as the level of direct supports to active tillage and drystock farmers is declining, we can only conclude that the trend evident in 2014 will accelerate in the years ahead.

The fact that 63% of on-farm investments in 2014 took place on dairy enterprises, further reinforces this trend given the number of farmers engaged in the sector relative to the overall industry.

So, how should we respond? First, we should celebrate the success of the dairy sector and the opportunity to grow this industry.

While it is always dangerous to look at any one year in isolation and in the context of volatility, the 2014 NFS data should give young graduates confidence that the sector has the potential to generate a return comparable with other career choices.

Being in a position to attract these high-calibre graduates will serve the sector well into the future and will drive further innovation.

Of course, we must review 2014 data in the light of current market conditions where product prices are down 30-40%. In this regard, a rolling three-year average FFI would help give a more rounded picture.

With regards to the tillage and drystock sectors, we must ensure the measurements of success adequately reflect the intensity of the business, especially when carrying out comparative analysis across sectors.

Is FFI the right measure to compare returns in suckling with dairying? Not when we consider that the average suckler farm in the NFS had 27 cows compared with 70 cows on the average dairy farm. Land type and soil productivity also has a major bearing on profit-generating capacity, as highlighted in this week’s special soils magazine.

With the average suckler herd along the western seaboard ranging from 10-15 cows, we have to accept that these are not full-time operations. Even where herd size is slightly larger, it is often the case that other family duties make up part of the daily workload. In this context, a return per hour of labour invested would seem a much more accurate way to assess the financial contribution of these enterprises to household income.

How many hours per week should a 20-cow suckler herd consume? It is perhaps time to dust down previous labour surveys and start to tailor technical advice to not only improving efficiency, but removing labour.

Meanwhile, in the case of the tillage sector, the results from the NFS once again expose the challenges ahead. Given the income gap with dairying, the ability to retain the land base in an increasingly competitive rental market will be a major challenge.