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There was a sharp drop in incomes across dairy, beef and sheep farms in 2018, a report by farmer accountancy firm ifac shows. A number of factors including lower farmgate prices, the spring fodder shortage and the subsequent summer drought all combined to reduce average farm incomes, according to Philip O’Connor, head of farm support at ifac.
The ifac Irish Farm Report shows average incomes for its dairy farm clients fell 25% to €804/ha. This was mainly a result of lower milk prices and a 30% rise in feed costs.
For beef farmer clients of ifac, 2018 was a very difficult year with the average farm running up a loss of €116/ha, which is a worse performance than 2017, when the average beef farm made a loss of €4/ha.
Sheep farmer clients of ifac made an average loss of €150/ha last year. This compares to an average loss of €126/ha in 2017.
Tillage farmers were the only clients of ifac to buck the trend with average incomes rising 25% last year to €252/ha. This was driven by stronger prices for straw and grain.
The report was compiled using data from almost 22,000 sets of accounts from dairy, beef, sheep, tillage and mixed farming enterprises. The net income figures provided by ifac do not include own labour costs, EU subsidies or interest repayments.
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