Eighty percent of farmers expect their farm income to decline this year and 97% are concerned about their 2022 profitability, an Irish Farmers Journal survey has found.

Sixteen percent believe their income will fall by less than 10%, 38% say it will fall by between 11% and 30% and a further 10% believe their farm income will decline by over 50% this year.

Just 14% of beef farmers said their income will remain the same or increase, with 40% expecting an income drop of between 11% and 30%.

Sheep farmers are in a similar position, with 85% expecting a fall in income.

Some 12% of dairy farmers said their income will increase this year, while 18% said it will remain the same. Twenty-one percent expect their income to fall by less than 30% and 32% of farmers expect it to fall by between 11% and 30%.

Tillage farmers are the most optimistic, with 16% expecting a boost in farm incomes this year and 28% expecting incomes to stay the same. Just over half (56%) of tillage farmers expect their income to decline.

Profitability

Over half of sheep farmers are very concerned about their profitability now compared to last month, while 50% of beef farmers are very concerned.

Some 22% of both beef and sheep farmers are moderately concerned.

Four percent of dairy farmers are not at all concerned about their profitability, compared to 12% of tillage farmers.

Some 36% of dairy farmers are very concerned about their profitability compared to 28% of cereal growers.

When asked about their current outlook on farming, 46% of farmers said they have a negative outlook, 27% said they were indifferent and 27% had a positive outlook.