Provisional estimates indicated that total income from farming (TIFF) had decreased from £609 million (R14,2 billion) in 2022 to £341 million (R7,9 billion) in 2023, or 44%, according to a report by BBC News.
“TIFF is the return on own labour, management input and own capital invested,” the report said.
During the period under review, farmers bought less fertiliser and lime, but increased spending on feed, with the latter accounting for more than half of the total value of gross inputs.
The most significant decline in income was expected to be evident in the grain (-80%) and dairy farming (-70%) sectors.
Income from pig farming was, however, expected to increase by 84% in 2023/24, due to a rise in the price of pigs.
At the same time, higher beef prices would also result in incomes from cattle and sheep “in less favoured areas (a classification of land that is not as productive), [as well as] cattle and sheep [on] lowland farms expected to increase by 8% and 3% respectively”.
The BBC reported that Andrew Muir, the minister for agriculture and environment, said fluctuating market conditions were not a new problem, but remained a “very difficult” issue for farmers. Fluctuations were mainly due to “price influences in world markets which are outside Daera’s control”.
He added: “Consequently, my department focuses effort on helping farmers mitigate cost and price pressures by improving their productivity and resilience, while also addressing their environmental sustainability levels.
“These are the goals of our new farm support and development programme.”
In addition, Muir said the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise in Antrim continued to offer “relevant training and support to farmers”.
The report stated that total gross output for agriculture declined to £2,87 billion (R67,06 billion) in 2023, of which almost a third was dairy production, or £892 million (R20,8 billion).
According to Daera, milk volumes also declined and the producer price per litre fell.
While output values of intensive production sectors such as poultry, eggs and pig production increased, the pig and egg sectors saw declines.
