Latest CSO figures show there are 137,500 farms in Ireland, with an average farm size of 32.4 hectares.

While specialist beef production retained its position as the most common type of activity, accounting for over half of farms, the number of such farms declined by 6,400 to 72,400.

Mixed grazing (16,900) and specialist dairying (16,700) were the next most prominent systems.

Specialist dairying has seen a 1,100 farm increase in the past three years, with the majority of dairy farms (80%) concentrated in the southeast. Over two-thirds of sheep farms and 60% of beef farms are in the border midlands and west (BMW) region.

Increased output

The average standard output on farms was €45,000, an increase of €10,000 on the previous CSO data. A total of 23,300 farms had a standard output of less than €4,000, 60% of which were in the BMW region. In contrast, more than 70% of the 28,100 farms with a standard output of €50,000 or more were in the southeast.

In general, the larger the farm the greater the level of standard output, with almost all specialist dairy farms (92%) having a standard output of at least €50,000. This corrolates to specialist dairy farms averaging 58ha – almost twice that of the national average.

Almost 70% of farms of over 100 hectares were located in the southeast, while over 60% of farms of less than 10 hectares were in the BMW.

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