Farmers say red tape is the biggest challenge

The Irish Farm Accounts Co-Operative (IFAC) launched its 2025 Irish Farm report this week. The report reveals the mood of Irish farmers and their views on the issues facing the sector and is based on a survey completed by 1,035 Irish farmers in the latter months of 2024.

The survey participants broadly reflect the age, gender and farming types in Irish agriculture. Just 9% of respondents were aged between 18-34, 31% between 35-50, 43% between 51-64 and 17% were over 65, with 90% of respondents male and 10% female.

Dairy farmers made up 47% of respondents; 37% of respondents were mainly beef farmers; 9% mainly sheep, 3% tillage, and 5% were mixed tillage and livestock.

The survey participants were at different stages of farming. Just 7% were starting out, while 22% were either planning transition or handing the farm to the next generation.

The majority of respondents, 57%, were focused on maintaining their farms at current levels, while 14% were actively expanding.

Many issues highlighted in the report are recurring with succession and financial planning continuing to feature prominently. The role of compliance and bureaucracy in farming has also come to the fore this year with the nitrates directive a particular concern for dairy farmers.

Overall, however, farmers are more positive than they were in the 2024 report, but that had been a low point compared with the previous years.

Just over half, 51% of farmers that responded to the survey are positive about the future in agriculture. This is a slight improvement on last year (46%) but remains a long way behind the 80% positive sentiment in the 2023 survey and the 77% positive figure in 2022.

As for their future in farming, 67% of all respondents expect to still be farming five years from now, with 24% unsure, and just over 8% stating they definitely wouldn’t. Dairy farmers (73pc) are the most confident, followed by sheep farmers (66pc), but just over 60% of beef and tillage farmers expect to still be going five years from now.

Succession

Only 29% of survey respondents have a farming successor identified, rising to 33% when a non-farming successor is included. This is marginally higher than the 27% figure in the 2024 report.

Interestingly, the 2025 figure rises to 52% having a farming successor identified where the respondents were from a farming partnership.

The biggest obstacle to attracting a successor is identified as the lifestyle of farming not appealing to the next generation in addition to 12% of potential successors reported as just not being interested at all in farming.

Concern about the viability of the business was seen by 20% of respondents as the main challenge to attracting a successor.

Farmers are also slow in making a will with one third of respondents over 50 not having a will in place and two thirds of all respondents are not aware that a grant is available for succession planning.

The report identifies the cuts to nitrates limits as a pressing issue, particularly for dairy farmers, with 70% identifying increased regulations as their top challenge; 47% of respondents said losing the derogation would severely impact their farms’ profitability.

Overall, 35% of respondents are in derogation but this increases to 64% among dairy farmers.

As for what action they would take if losing or facing a reduced derogation over the next two years, one third of dairy farmers would look to get more land but just over half would respond by reducing stock numbers and 9% said they would get out of farming.

Over half of respondents, 56%, see renewable energy as the most significant technology on farms with 15% saying that they either have installed solar panels or are in the process of doing so. A further 51% said that while they haven’t done so, they are considering it.

Managing money is essential for the successful functioning of any business but judging on responses to the survey, formal financial planning is a low priority for farmers.

The report finds that 70% of respondents don’t prepare budgets and one in three don’t know if their pension will provide enough income for their retirement.

Unlike many other countries, Irish agriculture doesn’t have a high level of borrowing and responses to the survey showed that only one in four borrowed money in the past year.

Attracting farm workers continues to be an issue and the survey found that 81% of respondents with non-family workers rely on word of mouth for recruitment; 40% of respondents are unfamiliar with the upcoming auto enrolment pensions obligation for employers.

Worryingly, the report found that Irish farmers are reluctant to address mental health issues, with almost half of respondents who suffered depression in the past three years not seeking help.

Farmers who suffered from depression are also more worried about succession with 50pc of this cohort unsure about their farms’ future compared with one third of farmers overall.

A quarter of dairy respondents highlighted a shortage of workers as a key challenge. Lifestyle is also cited as an issue in getting a successor for 30% in dairy compared with 23% average across all categories.

Dairy farmers are the most likely to require additional slurry and soiled water storage, with 25% of dairy respondents saying it was required.

Among beef farming respondents, a quarter are planning for succession but only two thirds have identified a successor. Business viability was seen as the main obstacle to getting a successor by 26% of respondents.

Just under half, 45%, would consider going organic. This rises to 59% for sheep farmers who are also the largest category of sole traders in farming at 82% compared with 56% of farmers overall.

Organic farming is of much less interest (32%) to tillage farmer respondents. Tillage respondents are well financed with 96% saying that they have sufficient working capital for the next six months compared with 74% of farmers overall. They are also enthusiastic about precision agriculture, with 71% seeing it as the most impactful technology on their farm.