Teagasc has reported that the average suckler farm income is on track to more than double in the space of a year to pass out the usually higher income sector of cattle finishing.

Its annual review of farm incomes expects suckler farmers to finish out the year with an average income of €30,000 – up 118% on 2024’s level – as the reporters estimated the increase in weanling prices at 70%.

These same high weanling and store prices limited the capacity of cattle finishers to see incomes grow in-line with those of their suckler counterparts, as finisher incomes look set to increase by a quarter to €23,000 this year.

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Dairy farm incomes look set to hit their second highest level on record this year, despite the collapse in milk prices witnessed in the second half of the year, Teagasc’s figures show.

The average dairy family farm income is estimated to finish 2025 at €137,000, second only to 2022’s €157,000.