The southeast has the most valuable farms in the country, the Teagasc national farm survey (NFS) has found.

The average value of land and buildings on farms in the southeast last year was €1.166m, according to the survey.

The fixed asset value of farms in the midlands also topped the €1m mark, with the average figure coming in €1,400 over the six-figure sum.

The lowest fixed asset value was for farms in the west, where the average value of land and buildings was put at €384,000.

The figures for the mid-west and southwest were €883,000 and €790,000 respectively.

The average value for Dublin and the mid-east was €815,000, while the average for the border region was €456,000.

Total assets

In terms of total assets – including land, buildings, machinery and livestock – dairy farms had the highest average value in 2021.

Total assets on dairy farms were valued at €1.44m, while tillage farms came a close second at €1.25m.

The average value of total assets on suckler farms was €584,000. This was the lowest figure across the various enterprises.

Comparable figures for beef finishing units and sheep holdings were €750,000 and €623,000 respectively.

The average value of breeding stock on dairy farms in 2021 was €115,527, with the comparable figure for suckler farms being €27,070. The average value of breeding stock on sheep farms was put at €26,374.

Machinery

Dairy farms also had the highest average investment in machinery at €99,296. Machinery assets on tillage farms averaged €84,741.

The figures for suckler farms, cattle finishing units and sheep holdings were €18,360, €22,194 and €20,756 respectively.

The NFS is a survey of approximately 800 farms, which are representative of the country’s 85,000. It is carried out by Teagasc each year.