Income on cattle rearing farms fell on average to €9,408, last year – the lowest income across all farm systems – but output increased in value because of higher cattle prices, according to the latest Teagasc National Farm Survey.
Soaring production costs primarily due to higher fertiliser, feed and fuel costs combined with a drop in some key direct payments drove the average income down on these farms by 13% last year, according to Teagasc.
The latest survey also highlighted that there was a 4% decrease in the average-sized cattle rearing farm in 2022 to 31ha.
According to Teagasc the number of cattle rearing farms that reported a Family Farm Income (FFI) of less than €5,000 rose to 47% in 2022.
Just 3% of cattle rearing farms earned more than €50,000 in 2022, which is in stark contrast to the 53% increase in dairy farm income which increased to €150,884 on average in 2022.
Production costs
Although there was an improvement in young cattle prices during 2022, production costs increased on average by 13% – which was the smallest increase recorded in the survey across all farm systems.
According to Teagasc both concentrate and fertiliser use were “down significantly” on cattle rearing farms with nitrogen use down 33% last year.
But at the same time, direct costs jumped by 6% particularly in relation to fertiliser purchases which still increased by 32%. The average cattle rearing farm spent in the region of €3,249 on fertiliser last year, the survey showed.
The amount of money spent by cattle rearing farms on concentrates also increased modestly by 3% year-on-year, to an average €3,906.
Other key production costs including contracting charges increased on these farms by 17% to an average €3,812, but livestock and veterinary costs were down 9% to €2,217
According to Teagasc other direct costs also increased by 18% to €1,489.
Overhead costs
According to Teagasc, overhead costs on cattle rearing farms also increased on average by 19% to €20,348.
There was also an increase in general depreciation on these farms in 2022 compared to 2021. There was a 59% increase in machinery depreciation (to €4,193) and a 43% increase in building depreciation (to €3,425).
Car, electricity and phone costs were also up 7% to €2,652 while machinery operating costs were also up slightly, by 4% to €3,090.
Fuel costs also increased by 28% to €1,534 and according to Teagasc other overhead costs also increased, up 18% to €2,778.
Output
According to Teagasc there were an estimated 17,900 cattle rearing farms represented in the latest National Farm Survey, with suckler cow production the main enterprise on these farms.
Last year the average gross output on these farms increased by 6% to €44,505 compared to 2021, primarily because of the improved prices for younger cattle.
In general the average gross margin/ha on cattle rearing farms in 2022 increased by 10% to €951/ha – which included an average Basic Payment of €249.
But at the same time the average amount of direct payments – such as the Green Low Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) – received on cattle rearing farms declined by 5% in 2022, to €14,309.
Other sector-specific payments including the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme Sucklers (BEEP-S) and Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) delivered an average payment for participating farmers of around €1,900 for BEEP-S and €1,600 for BDGP last year.
Many farmers also received an estimated payment of nearly €1,000 from the Fodder Support Scheme in 2022.