The average family farm income on tillage farms was €54,916 in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 33%.

That is among the findings of the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) which was published today (Monday, July 6).

A total of 6,229 tillage farms were represented in the survey, including farms with a secondary cattle enterprise.

Teagasc noted that data from specialist tillage farms (without livestock) will be reported upon in the final NFS report for 2025 which is due to be published later this year.

The average farm income on an average tillage farm (70ha) stood at €790/ha in 2025, up from €577/ha in 2024.

The average tillage farm gross margin was €1,599/ha in 2025, up 13% year-on-year. This included a Pillar I payment of €279/ha and other support payments of €236/ha, on average.

Tillage

The survey found that 15% of tillage farms had an average income of less than €5,000 in 2025, down from 24% in the previous year.

8% of farms earned between €5,000 and €10,000, with 11% earning between€10,000 and €20,000.

In 2025, 28% of tillage farms reported income of between €20,000 and €50,000.

The proportion with an income over €50,000 increased by 6 percentage points year-on-year to 37%.

Cereal prices at harvest in Ireland in 2025 were down on the 2024 levels, due to movement in international stocks-to-use ratios.

However, the survey noted that higher crop yields helped the value of output for the average farm rise by 7% year-on-year to €174,952.

It should be noted that tillage farms with cattle enterprises also benefitted from higher cattle prices.

Targeted support payments continued to play an important role on tillage farms in 2025.

There was strong uptake of schemes, including the Tillage Incentive Scheme, Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) and Protein Aid Scheme.

Support payments also increased on average, up 5% compared to 2024 at €35,760 on average.

Costs

Teagasc said that average production costs remained "relatively stable" on tillage farms in 2025, falling 1% to €120,040.

On average, direct production costs increased by 2% year-on-year to €63,826. Overhead costs were down 4% to €56,210.

The average fertiliser cost increased by 15% compared to 2024 at €19,401.

Average contracting charges were down 1% year-on-year at €14,345, crop protection costs were up 10% to €11,936 and purchased seed costs rose 4% to €8,774.

In 2025, average spending on concentrates for cattle enterprises on tillage farms was down 18% to €4,749 on average.

Machinery

Machinery depreciation accounted for €10,728 of expenditure, on average, a decrease of 17% compared to 2024.

Average machinery operating costs remained stable at €12,748 in 2025, while land rental costs dropped 6% to an average of €10,784.

Hired labour costs declined by 26% on average to €2,158 and fuel expenditure rose 2% on average to €6,112.

The survey shows that the average tillage farm area decreased by 4% in 2025, to 70ha. Of this, 40ha was dedicated to cereals, up 3% on 2024