Income collected by the ICMSA in 2016 fell almost 20% to just over €1.2m, according to financial accounts published by the farmer organisation at its AGM this week. The ICMSA draws the bulk of its annual income from fees paid by its 16,000 members.

Just under 20% of the organisation’s income is derived from levies on milk and beef under the European Involvement Fund (EIF levies). The ICMSA said the drop in income last year was due to the weak milk price in 2016 which hit milk levies.

Almost all of the levies on milk the ICSMA collects are agreed to by farmers under contract, while beef levies are mainly collected from ABP processing plants.

This drop in income saw the ICMSA record an operational deficit of almost €40,000 last year. Expenditure by the ICMSA in 2016 amounted to €1.25m, which outstripped the overall income.

Almost half of the ICMSA’s expenditure, or €593,000, goes towards wages, salaries and pension costs for its 12 permanent staff. Travel expenses were just over €355,000, which is the next largest cost to the organisation.

The ICMSA received additional income in 2016 from interest payments and returns on financial assets that amounted to just over €33,000. This offset the operating deficit to leave the organisation with a pre-tax deficit of just over €6,700.

Overall, the ICMSA is in rude financial health. The slight deficit recorded in 2016 is only a fraction of the organisation’s €3.3m in reserves. The accounts also show the ICMSA has more than €1.8m cash at hand in the bank.