Teagasc research has sounded an alarm on the social vulnerability of Irish farm households, a vulnerability which could have major implications for both small communities and the national economy.

Researchers analysed a number of key criteria which, when combined, provide a clear warning about the structure of Irish farms. In addition to the economic household vulnerability, they examined the number of hours worked on each farm, the age profile, whether the farmer lives alone, and the level of formal agricultural education of the farmer.

Presenting their findings, the Teagasc National Farm Survey Sustainability Report 2023 authors Cathal Buckley and Trevor Donnellan emphasised why social sustainability is important. They wrote: “A farm will only be sustainable if employment in agriculture can provide a suitable economic return for the labour employed, but also if farm operators and families have an acceptable quality of life from their farming and non-farming activities.

“If farming is not socially sustainable, individuals may exit the sector, or there may be a lack of new entrants to farming, with fewer younger people willing to take over farms when older farmers retire from farming.”

The ageing profile of Irish farmers has been of concern for several years, with repeated calls on the Government to accelerate generational renewal through the combination of an attractive retirement scheme for older farmers, and new entrant incentives for young farmers entering.

However, maintaining social sustainability is not just a concern for the individual households at risk, it has much wider implications for their local communities. As Buckley and Donnellan wrote: “As agriculture is often the predominant economic activity in many rural areas, the social impacts of a viable farming sector are also important in maintaining employment and social well-being in the broader rural community.”

A 2022 study by KPMG commissioned by the Irish Farmers Journal examined the economic links between four rural towns and the agri-food sector.

The four towns – Ballyhaunis, Cavan, Charleville and Enniscorthy – contributed almost €5bn to Ireland’s economic output, and had over 41,000 jobs linked to the agri-food sector.

Similarly, Cookstown in Co Tyrone generated over £1.6bn (€1.9bn) in Northern Ireland’s economic output and over 10,000 were linked to the agri-food sector in Cookstown.

Household vulnerability

The latest research shows that on a three-year rolling average, 27% of all farm households in Ireland were vulnerable – they do not have a viable farm business and they have no off-farm employment.

This average hides a wide range however, with cattle and sheep farms having the highest rates of vulnerability, at 33% and 30% respectively, while dairy stood at 11% and tillage at 16%. Given the links between economic output and farm viability, this is expected.

Risk of isolation

Sheep farms were found to be becoming increasingly at risk of isolation, with more farmers living alone (19%) than any other sector, although cattle (18%) and tillage (17%) farms were not far behind. Dairy farms are far less at risk of isolation, at 6%.

High age profile

Teagasc found that, on a three-year rolling average basis, the percentage of all farms with a high age profile has increased since 2016, rising from 25% to 34%. Dairy farms tend to have the lowest age profile of all farm systems, while cattle and sheep farms have many more older farmers. They tend to have two or three times as many farmers aged over 60 as the dairy sector.

Hours worked on farm

While dairy farms were on the upside of many social indicators, the research shows that they work significantly more hours on their farms than all other sectors. At 2,545 hours, dairy farmers worked around 1,000 hours more than their tillage, beef and sheep counterparts.

Off-farm hours

When the part-time jobs of many sheep, beef and tillage farmers were included, the difference in total hours worked on and off-farm closed to around 500 hours. Dairy farmer worked around 2,700 hours on and off the farm, while the other sectors worked around 2,200 per year. The difference equates to some 10 hours per week.

Agricultural education

The percentage of farmers who received formal agricultural education is rising, from 47% to 60% since 2018. Dairy farmers top this metric at 85%, compared to cattle (50%), sheep (61%) and tillage (68%) farmers.

What next?

The European Commission’s recently published Strategic Dialogue on the future of the EU Agriculture recommended a bench-marking of the economic, environmental and social sustainability performance of EU agriculture.

Could future CAP schemes be designed to be less focused on income and more focused on the social sustainability metrics for farmers in EU member states?

That remains to be seen, but the warnings this report sounds on farmer age and isolation need to be addressed by the next government in tandem with any proposed changes by the European Commission in Brussels.