The Minister for Finance today (Tuesday October 1) acknowledged in Budget 2025 the concerns voiced by farm organisations about the future viability of family farms because of fluctuating and declining incomes.
Minister Jack Chambers told the Dáil: “I am aware that there can be income instability in the farming sector in general, and the dairy sector more specifically.
“I am keen to advance an income volatility measure to support the farming sector for consideration in advance of next year’s budget.
“This requires detailed consideration of complex issues of policy around how this would operate in the context of financial regulation, governance and legal structures.”
According to Minister Chambers his “officials will work with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM in progressing proposals for consideration”.
Budget 2025
The minister for finance highlighted during his first budget that Irish farmers “play an important role in providing high quality food domestically and for export and are highly regarded for quality produce and farming methods”.
But the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) have vigorously warned ahead of today’s budget that high production costs and lower returns, in some instances, have decimated farmer incomes.
Latest research published earlier this year by Teagasc showed that the average income for Irish dairy farmers stood at just under €49,500 in 2023, a fall of 69% or €108,000 when compared with the previous year, according to a new report.
The Teagasc National Farm Survey 2023, which has been published today (Tuesday, July 23), shows that all farm systems recorded their lowest average incomes in several years in 2023.
The report, which is representative of almost 85,000 farms in Ireland, shows that the average family farm income in Ireland dropped by 57% in 2023 to €19,925.
Teagasc said that the decrease is strongly associated with the sharp decline in dairy and tillage farm incomes in 2023 driven by falls in milk and cereal prices, lower production volumes and high input costs.