There has been a large rise in farmers with off-farm income in the last 10 years. The figures were presented by Teagasc director Frank O’Mara at the opening of the Nuffield triennial conference in Belfast last week.

In the last decade, the percentage of cattle rearing farmers (suckler farms) with off farm income has risen from 36.5% in 2015 to 47.4% in 2024. Cattle finishing farms recorded a higher increase in those seeking off farm jobs, with 55% of cattle finishing farms now availing of off farm income, up from 38.7% in 2015.

Sheep farms with off farm income also saw a 10% rise from 2015-2024. Tillage farms saw the largest increase in off farm income, rising from 34.5% in 2015 to 50.1% in 2024.

Within the figures presented was a Teagasc forecast that dairy family farm income will decline by 41% in 2026, a significant drop compared to 2025 incomes. With more and more farmers having off-farm income, tax planning is becoming more important. This week’s five-page special focus on tax planning with Agribusiness Editor Lorcan Roche-Kelly goes into specific detail on managing tax bills in 2026. The Teagasc data provides important information in relation to a changing demographic in some farming sectors.

EU proposals around limiting farm payments to part-time farmers ignore the fact that the very reason that these farms have gone part-time is the income being achieved on the farm and off farm work was sought as a necessity to pay bills, provide for a family and live.

Rather than alienate this cohort of farmers with reduced payments, they should be supported, as they are the most likely to continue farming and producing food with the cushion of off-farm income insulating the family farm income from volatility in prices.

The shift in part-time numbers also poses questions for Teagasc research as to what the key drivers are on farms. Should time and labour be factored in when technology adoption is being looked at on part-time farms?