Agricultural operating surplus for 2021 shows an annual increase of €533.5 million, or 18.1%, up from €2,953.7 million in 2020 to €3,487.2m according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
It published its final estimates for output, input and income in agriculture in 2021 this week.
The value of agricultural output at basic prices rose by €1,240.2m (+13.8%), with milk accounting for over half of this growth (€641.8m).
Intermediate consumption costs rose by €536.4m (+9.4%) to €6,230.8m.
An analysis of the results for 2021 compared to 2020 identified a number of changes and these are outlined below.
Livestock production
Despite a marginal reduction in output volumes (-0.6%), higher prices (+13.4%) led to the value of cattle production increasing by €290.2 million (+12.7%) to €2,580.7 million.
A 1.9% expansion in production volumes helped to moderate the impact of lower prices (-9.4%), resulting in the value of pig production decreasing by €46.5 million (-7.7%) from €601.9 million to €555.4 million.
While the volume of sheep production declined by 1.3%, strong price growth (+21.1%) resulted in the value of sheep output increasing by €59.7 million (+19.7%), from €303.3 million in 2020 to €362.9 million in 2021.
Milk price
Milk prices continued to rise in 2021, growing by 17%, and with output expanding by 5.5%, the value of milk production grew by €641.8 million (+23.3%), from €2,753.6 million to €3,395.4 million.
Cereals
While the area planted with cereals was only marginally higher (+3.4%), favourable weather conditions contributed to significantly improved yields for cereals. When combined with stronger prices, the value of cereal production grew by €144.7 million (+50.0%) to €434.2 million in 2021.
Potato yields were also significantly up and with output growing by 41.1% and prices also rising, the overall value of potatoes rose by €56.6 million to €174.9 million. In total, the volume of crop production increased by 9.1% and with stronger prices (+3%), the value of crops rose by €234.9m (+11.7%) to €2,241.3 million.
Feedstuffs
The volume of feed stuffs consumed on Irish farms increased by 6.8%. The impact of increased volumes was exacerbated by higher prices (+10.3%), resulting in the overall cost of feedstuffs rising by €273.2 million (+17.9%) to €1,798.4 million.
Fertiliser
The cost of fertiliser grew by €73.2 million (+13.7%) to €605.5 million.
According to the CSO, the full impact of the large increase in fertiliser prices in 2021 will not be felt until estimates for 2022 are prepared – due to the methodology used to value fertilisers.
The cost of energy and lubricants rose by €78.7 million (+20.9%) due to a combination of a 15.2% increase in prices and a 5.0% rise in the volumes consumed.
Expenditure on maintenance and repairs increased by €23.1 million (+4.4%) to €545.6 million while expenditure on other goods and services grew by €36.6 million (+7.2%) to €546.0 million, according to the CSO.