In four of the seven years between 2010 and 2016 the total income generated on NI farms was less than EU direct payments, so without this money, farming here would have been loss-making.A figure often quoted around that time was that on average, 83% of farm incomes in NI effectively came from these payments. While for some, it highlighted the need to ensure payments continue to be made, it was data that was also used by others to claim that the model of production in agriculture was effectively broken in NI.