SURVEY SHOWS DIVE IN KERRY FARM INCOMES

DAIRY PRICE DROPS HIT KERRY FARMERS HARD ACCORDING TO TEAGASC REPORT

THE average farm income in the Kerry-Cork ‘South’ region has dropped by almost 15 per cent according to preliminary results from Teagasc’s 2016 National Farm Survey.

The average income in the South is just under €27,500, which represents a drop of over 13 per cent from 2015, four points steeper than the national fall.

The report also highlighted that 60 per cent of the average family farm income in the South comes from direct payments and subsidies.

“Despite increased direct payments and a reduction in some of the key input items, a nine-point fall in milk prices and poorer crop yields than in recent years saw the average farm income tumble by nine per cent in 2016,” Teagasc economist Emma Dillon told The Kerryman.

“The reason the reduction was larger in the southern part of the country is because the dairy sector was worst affected this year,” she added. While dairy remained the most profitable system in 2016 with an average income of over €51,809, this represented a drop of over €10,000 from 2015.

The typical farmer in the South still earns considerably more than the national average of just over €24,000, but is well behind the stand-out figure of over €38,500 in the South East.

The South was also found to have the lowest percentage of farm holders who are working off-farm, at 22 per cent.

In the national figures, a fall in lamb prices saw the average sheep farmer’s income drop marginally to just over €16,000, while the continued roll-out of GLAS and BDGP helped the average cattle-rearing farmer’s income increase slightly, though it remains very low at less than €13,000.

In spite of the fall in earnings in 2016, Teagasc said average farm income has remained relatively consistent over the last five years and has recovered well since the late noughties. In positive news for the dairy-dominated South West, Ms Dillon added that prospects for dairy are very positive for 2017 following a dramatic recovery in incomes forecast, and Teagasc also anticipates dry-stock farm incomes to remain relatively stable. By