The number of farm households where the farmer or their spouse had an off-farm job dropped to an average of 59% in 2025.

The Teagasc National Farm Survey 2025 also shows that the proportion of farmers who were employed off-farm remained relatively unchanged last year at 43%.

The survey, representing around 88,000 farms, shows there was further growth in farm incomes across all systems in 2025, driven by high milk price and strong cattle and sheep prices.

The average family farm income rose to just over €53,800 in 2025, an increase of 49% compared to the previous year.

Farmers

Teagasc noted that the percentage of off-farm employment differs across various farm systems.

On average, 54% of tillage farm operators also worked off-farm.

A similar proportion of cattle rearing farmers (52%) had an off-farm job, while the level was slightly lower on cattle other farms (non-suckling beef farms) at 50%.

An average of 46% of sheep farmers also worked away from their farms.

While a low proportion of dairy farmers work off-farm (14%), 58% of dairy farm households have an off-farm employment income.

This is due to 53% of spouses in these households having an off-farm job.

According to the survey, the average incidence of household off-farm employment in 2025 was 74% on tillage farms, 62% on cattle rearing farms and 57% on both cattle other and sheep farms.

Off-farm jobs

Teagasc attributed the drop in the proportion of households with an off-farm employment income source to the ageing profile of Irish farmers.

"This is reflected in the associated increase in the proportion of farm households in receipt of pensions (through either thefarm holder or spouse) in recent years.

"In 2025, the data indicates that the proportion of farm householdsin receipt of pension income was 39%," the survey said.

In 2025, the average age of cattle farmers was 60 years, while the average sheep farmer aged at 59 years.

The average age of dairy farmers was 55 years in 2025, the average age of tillage farmers stood at 56 years.

The survey shows that an average of 44% of cattle farm households were in receipt of a pension. This figure was 38% on sheep farms, 26% on tillage farms and 25% on dairy farms, on average.

CAP

Meanwhile, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has said one of the most important outstanding issues in the ongoing Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) negotiations "concerns definitions of farmer and active farmer".

The European Commission's legal proposal on the next CAP recommends that future funding under the policy should be focused on "active farmers".

Defining what farmers or people have access to CAP funds has been a key debate in Brussels for a long time.

"While there appears to be broad support for maintaining the farmer definition broadly aligned with the current framework, significant differences remain regarding the active farmer concept, including its scope and potential mandatory application," Minister Heydon said.

The minister added that further discussion "will be required to identify a working landing zone".