Dairying remains the most lucrative farming enterprise. The average dairy farmer income last year was €97,350. This was up €18,348 on 2020 levels, an increase of 23%.

Stronger results were recorded by the two-thirds of milk suppliers with farm debt. Average earnings on these holdings was €106,683.

Increased milk volumes and higher prices more than offset an 11% rise in costs on dairy farms. The national farm survey (NFS) noted that Irish milk deliveries expanded by 5.6% in 2021, while prices topped 40c/l.

Almost four out of every 10 dairy farms (39%) last year made over €100,000, while 13% made less than €30,000.

On average, direct payments accounted for just 22% of dairy farmers’ incomes. The average dairy herd size was 91 cows in 2021, up from 64 in 2011.

Suckler farming remains the “poor relation” of agricultural enterprises, returning the lowest average income once again. Although suckler farmers’ incomes increased by 29.7% last year, this represented a lift of just €2,500.

Suckler farmers made €10,927 on average in 2021, compared to €8,427 in 2020.

Indeed, the NFS confirmed that most suckler holdings are still loss-making, with farmers dipping into direct payments to subsidise their livestock operations. The survey noted that direct payments accounted for 138% of suckler farmers’ incomes.

Although income from livestock sales rose 15% last year, this lift in earnings was eroded somewhat by a 10% hike in input costs. These included higher conacre prices (+40%), feed (+8%) and fertiliser (+5%).

Beef finishers recorded the lowest lift in incomes last year of all the farm enterprises surveyed, with earnings improving by just 5.7%.

Average income in 2021 was €16,416 compared to €15,525 in 2020. The tight margins in the business were reflected in direct payments comprising 93% of overall earnings. Seventy percent of beef finishers earned less than €20,000 in 2021, with only 6% making more than €50,000. The survey found that 38% of beef finishers worked off-farm in 2021.

Earnings on tillage farms rose last year by a whopping 77%, despite overall costs increasing by one-third on 2020 levels.

Average tillage-farmer incomes hit €58,995 for 2021, up from €33,339 in 2020. These income figures were 50% higher than the highest levels recorded over the previous five years – which was the €40,000 earned by cereal growers in 2018.

The hike in earnings in 2021 was directly related to the sharp increase in cereal prices for the 2021 harvest, which were boosted by relatively low international stocks.

Close to a third of tillage farms earned more than €50,000, with 16% having incomes in excess of €100,000. Direct payments accounted for 47% of overall earnings on tillage farms.

The incomes of the 13,979 sheep farms represented in the NFS rose by 14.4% in 2021 on the back of a 30% lift in lamb prices and a 16% increase in farm output.

Average earnings on sheep units rose from €17,880 in 2020 to €20,451 in 2021.

Gross output on the average sheep farm increased by 16% to €61, 205 in 2021, driven by a strong improvement in prices due to better market conditions and stronger lamb exports.

Average flock size was up 8% in 2021 to 139 ewes. The average gross margin on sheep farms in 2021 was €909/ha. This included €257/ha in direct payments.