It was with a bit of cheeky chuckle that The Dealer noticed that dairy farmers far outstripped other sectors with 3.4 people in the average household, according to the Teagasc National Farm Survey.

This could be read as dairy farmers scoring a high fertility rating on ICBF or, digging a little deeper, it points to a trend we all know – that young people stay on dairy farms.

In comparison, over 40% of sheep farmers or their spouses are in receipt of a pension.