Farm input cost increases are fast outpacing output price increases, leaving farmers’ margins in a much worse position in 2022.

Production costs in 2022 on dairy and tillage farms will be up almost 50%, while sheep and cattle costs will be up almost 35%.

Comparing farm costs in February 2022 to February 2021 shows huge increases for some items – fertiliser is up 150%, some plant protection products are up by 200% and fuel prices rose by 20%. Feed, electricity and machinery prices are also up considerably.

On the output side, beef prices are only up 13% for an R3 steer in February 2021 compared to 2022.

Lamb prices are up 10% and milk prices are up 18% on a like-for-like comparison using most recent prices.

Forward grain prices are up, but the harvest is a long way away, with plenty of seed not yet in the ground.

The net result is that while there are record prices for milk, beef and lamb, Irish farmers will make less money in 2022, assuming that the same amount of inputs are used and that output prices don’t increase further.