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Chapter 12: Environment and Agriculture
In 2013, specialist beef production was the most common
type of farming system, with almost 79,000 farms in this
category. Dairy (15,600 farms) and specialist sheep farms
(15,000 farms) were the next most common systems.
There were also 5,300 specialist tillage farmers and there
were approximately 2,000 farmers operating intensive
pig, poultry and horticulture enterprises (CSO, 2015)
(Figure 12.2).
Figure 12.2
Farms by Type from the National Farm
Structures Survey 2013 (Source: CSO, 2015)
Specialist Beef Production
56.5%
Specialist Sheep
10.7%
Specialist Dairy
11.2%
Specialist Tillage
3.8%
Mixed and other farm types
17.8%
Economic challenges facing the farming
community
There are substantial economic challenges facing the
farming community. The report of the Agri-Taxation
Working Group to the Minister for Finance and the
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM,
2014) estimated that, of the largest 79,000 farms in
the country, just over one-third are economically viable,
one-third are sustainable, but only because of off-farm
income, and one-third are vulnerable in that farming is
not sufficient to make the farms economically viable and
off-farm employment is not locally available (Figure 12.3).
In general, profitability is highest in the dairy sector with
cattle rearing being the least profitable type of farming.
There is, however, significant ongoing volatility in the
price of agricultural commodities. When direct payments
in grants and schemes are taken out of farm income, dry
stock enterprises have, on average, a negative market
income which indicates that a substantial percentage
of direct payments go into sustaining farm enterprises
in Ireland. It is within this challenging economic context
that farmers are required to ensure that their operations
do not have a detrimental impact on the quality of the
environment.
Figure 12.1
Structure of Farming in Ireland (Source: CSO, 2015)
An Phriomh-Oifig Staidrimh
Central Statistics Office
Border Midland
Western Region
• Average farm size
27.1
hectares
• Average standard outputc23,013
• Average farm size 38.6 hectares
• Average standard output €50,303
• 79% of all Specialist
Dairyproducers
Structure of Farming in Ireland
Total Farms -139,600
Average Farm Size - 32.5 hectares
10,700
hectares
ofpotatoes
307,800
hectares ofcereals