The Teagasc National Farm Survey results report is the go-to place to find out the details on how Irish farm systems are performing financially and, more importantly, how these systems are changing over time.

A lot of credit must go to the Teagasc Agricultural Economics and Farm Surveys Department, which compiles the report, the farm recorders and the farmers that contribute the data to the report on an annual basis.

The National Farm Survey data represents about 88,000 farms or 65% of farms in the country. These farms have a standard output figure of greater than €8,000/year.

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Smaller farms with lower economic output are excluded from the analysis, but have in recent years been included in a separate report. The report uses farm family income, the return from farming for farm family labour, land and capital as the measurement for documenting farm incomes.

It’s important to remember that on some farms, this farm family income could be supporting more than one family, where a father and mother and a son or daughter is working alongside each other.

The 2025 results are resoundingly positive for most. Dairy farm income rose by 41% to €153,319, cattle rearing income rose by 74% to €24,061, with other cattle farm systems rising by 81% to €32,798.

Sheep farm income had a more modest increase of 7% in 2025 to €29,344.

It’s important to be positive about an increase in income. Generational renewal continues to be a huge issue in Ireland, and if it isn’t capable of returning a decent income, we won’t be able to attract the next generation into farming.

That income needs to be on a par with what is achievable in other sectors in society for young people to realistically look at farming as a career choice.

It’s equally important to analyse the 2025 figures in conjunction with what is coming down the line for 2026.

Last year was a unique year for cattle farmers, where beef farmers in particular capitalised on a big swing in the market coming from low to high prices. Increased store cattle and calf prices towards the end of 2025 and into 2026 will have the opposite effect on farm incomes in 2026.

This will also be coupled with an increase in input prices like fertiliser, diesel and contracting costs in 2026.One of the biggest take home messages for me was the massive volatility in incomes from year to year.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, but when you see farm income per unpaid labour unit on dairy farms go from €110,000 in 2022 down to €35,300 in 2023 and back up to €113,100 in 2025, we have to ask ourselves are we prepared for that level of volatility in income and how do farmers plan long-term investments when incomes can fluctuate so much?

The incidence of off-farm employment in farms also makes for interesting reading, with an increase on tillage farms from 52% in 2020 to 74% in 2025, a sign of insufficient income on tillage farms.

The National Farm Survey also reinforces the importance of good output prices for dairy, beef and sheep farms, but we shouldn’t forget the critical role that support payments play in European production systems.

The European model of producing food to the highest standards in the world comes at a huge cost to European and Irish farmers, a cost that the market is unable to deliver.

That means support payments are required to produce food to the required standard. Support payments as a percentage of family farm income still made up 72% of income on cattle rearing farms and 95% of income on sheep farms, despite higher prices in 2025.

It’s important to not forget the importance of support payments at such a critical juncture in the future of the next CAP in the next few months.