Andrew Muir
The Alliance Party politician was appointed Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister when the NI Executive was restored in February. The North Down MLA is likely to remain in post until the next Assembly election which must take place before May 2027.
Andrew Muir MLA was appointed Agriculture Minister in February. \ Houston Green
Budget
The total budget for agricultural support in NI from 2025/26 onwards is to be decided by the NI Executive in Belfast, rather than the Treasury in London. The announcement was made in late October and will mean NI will no longer receive a ring-fenced budget which can only be spent on farm-related schemes.
Cattle trade
The cattle trade at local marts soared during 2024 and was underpinned by record-breaking beef prices. Towards the end of the year, NI meat factories were opening negotiations for cattle at around 520p/kg, with much more available for larger finishers.
Dairy markets
Milk prices also gained momentum throughout the year on the back of strong international dairy markets. Despite some commodities easing more recently, milk price for a typical NI dairy farm is likely to be around the 45p/litre mark at the end of 2024.
Eggs
Strong consumer demand for eggs, coupled with tight planning rules for new sheds, saw egg packers from across the UK offer lucrative contracts to NI producers. It led to upheaval in the local poultry sector, particularly when Moy Park suppliers left the poultry meat processor to start table egg production.
Farm Sustainability Payment
The new area-based payment will effectively replace the existing Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in NI from 2025. The payment will be based on existing entitlements at lower values as money is moved across to the likes of the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme, the Suckler Cow Scheme and Farming With Nature.
GrassCheck
The scheme led by AgriSearch marked its 25th anniversary this year. The project found grass growth in NI was below average for most of 2024. Across GrassCheck farms, average yields this year stood at 11.09tDM/ha, which is behind the long-term average and is also down on the 2023 average of 11.77tDM/ha.
The 2024 harvest was better than expected given the wet winter and late spring. / Ramona Farrelly
Harvest
The 2024 harvest for both winter and spring crops was better than expected; given the wet winter and late spring. Yields held up well in most cases and favourable weather conditions in the late summer and autumn allowed grain to be harvested and straw to be baled in good condition.
Inheritance tax
The Autumn Budget in late October was a bombshell for NI farmers. A new £1m limit on agricultural and business property relief for inheritance tax from April 2026 led to protests across the UK. This included an unprecedented turnout of over 6,000 farmers at a rally near Lisburn which was organised by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) in November.
Even when peak numbers came forward in the summer, there remained a firm floor in the lamb trade. \ Houston Green
Just transition
There remains little detail about the long awaited “just transition fund for agriculture”. The need to set up a fund to help NI farmers meet environmental targets was included in climate change legislation in 2022. Farmer representatives want this to be new money, and not a reallocation of existing farm support funds.
KPMG
A report by consultancy firm KPMG in February found that DAERA’s proposals for new planning permission rules for farm sheds could hit incomes by up to 38% on the average pig farm. The ammonia emission rules could reduce average beef farm incomes by 30%, dairy by 21%, broiler units by 8% and laying hen units by 7%.
William Irvine was elected UFU president in May. \ Houston Green
Lamb trade
The presence of buyers from both Britain and the Republic of Ireland helped drive lamb prices in local marts throughout 2024 and put pressure on NI factories to keep pace. Even when peak numbers came forward in the summer, there remained a firm floor in the lamb trade. The year finished on a high with £7/kg up to 23kg available from local plants.
Milk pricing
The largest milk processor in NI, Lakeland Dairies, announced in May that it will move all suppliers to an A+B-C milk pricing model by January 2026. Other milk buyers in NI are also moving towards paying for milk solids rather than volume. Dale Farm is not moving to A+B-C, although it made changes to its increment payments to encourage higher constituent milk.
Access to veterinary medicines in NI after 2025 remains a key Brexit related problem. / David Ruffles.
NIEA
In June, it was revealed that Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir found £2.4m in savings across his department and £1.6m of this was being used to recruit new staff for the NI Environment Agency (NIEA). The new recruits will be used to communicate advice to farmers about water quality, as well as for inspections and enforcement.
Opt-in
Beef finishers who want to claim the £75 headage payment for NI-born prime cattle have to “opt-in” to the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme before the end of the year. In mid-December, the UFU said over 1,000 farm business still had to opt-in to the scheme.
Penalties
It came to light in August that the number of penalties handed out to NI farmers by DAERA inspectors increased again last year.
There were 978 rule breaches found during cross-compliance inspections in 2023, up from 933 the year before. In 2021, there were 561 breaches identified during checks and only 294 violations were found the year before that.
Quango
Another semi-public body, known as a quango, took a step closer to being established. A review into setting up an independent environmental protection agency was launched in November.
A new green body to take powers away from the existing NIEA has been a long-running ask from environmental campaigners.
Reactors
The number of bovine TB reactors taken off NI farms broke all records again this year. The latest figures show that there were 20,619 reactors during the 12-month period to the end of October 2024. It represents a 16% increase on the same period a year earlier.
Suckler payment
Details of the upcoming Suckler Cow Scheme have been slow to emerge in 2024. The new headage payment for sucklers has been put back by three months until 1 April 2025, although the UFU has called for it to be delayed until 1 January 2026 to fit in better with spring calving patterns.
Transition year
The first year of the new Farm Sustainability Payment in 2025 is set to be a transition year with minimal changes. DAERA announced in November that most of the key changes will come into effect from 2026. This will likely include a new set of rules and requirements to be eligible for the area-based payment.
Unused fund
Farmers in NI got an unexpected, albeit small, payment in early October. The BPS top-up equated to less than 1% of the overall scheme budget. The money came from remaining funds from the 2023/24 budget.
Vet medicines
Access to veterinary medicines in NI after 2025 remains a key Brexit-related problem and no solution emerged this year. Vet medicines in NI are required to comply with EU regulations and there is a risk that products from Britain could be discontinued when a grace period expires at the end of next year.
William Irvine
Armagh dairy farmer William Irvine was elected UFU president in May, taking over from David Brown. The Mountnorris man had served as UFU deputy president for four years and had numerous other roles within the union before that, including dairy committee chair.
Xeric
The word xeric describes conditions with little moisture. Whilst there were no drought conditions in drier parts of NI this summer, there was less rain than usual throughout the autumn and early winter. It helped extend the grazing season and even allowed for late cuts of silage.
YFCU
There was a change of personnel at the top of the Young Farmers’ Club of Ulster during 2024. Richard Beattie was elected president in April, taking over from Stuart Mills. Later in the year, Derek Lough was appointed chief executive, replacing Gillian McKeown.
Zone three
The Soil Nutrient Health Scheme continues to be rolled out across NI. Farms in zone three, which covers the northwest, are being soil sampled this winter. The fourth and final zone in the northeast will be sampled during 2025/26.
Andrew Muir
The Alliance Party politician was appointed Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister when the NI Executive was restored in February. The North Down MLA is likely to remain in post until the next Assembly election which must take place before May 2027.
Andrew Muir MLA was appointed Agriculture Minister in February. \ Houston Green
Budget
The total budget for agricultural support in NI from 2025/26 onwards is to be decided by the NI Executive in Belfast, rather than the Treasury in London. The announcement was made in late October and will mean NI will no longer receive a ring-fenced budget which can only be spent on farm-related schemes.
Cattle trade
The cattle trade at local marts soared during 2024 and was underpinned by record-breaking beef prices. Towards the end of the year, NI meat factories were opening negotiations for cattle at around 520p/kg, with much more available for larger finishers.
Dairy markets
Milk prices also gained momentum throughout the year on the back of strong international dairy markets. Despite some commodities easing more recently, milk price for a typical NI dairy farm is likely to be around the 45p/litre mark at the end of 2024.
Eggs
Strong consumer demand for eggs, coupled with tight planning rules for new sheds, saw egg packers from across the UK offer lucrative contracts to NI producers. It led to upheaval in the local poultry sector, particularly when Moy Park suppliers left the poultry meat processor to start table egg production.
Farm Sustainability Payment
The new area-based payment will effectively replace the existing Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in NI from 2025. The payment will be based on existing entitlements at lower values as money is moved across to the likes of the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme, the Suckler Cow Scheme and Farming With Nature.
GrassCheck
The scheme led by AgriSearch marked its 25th anniversary this year. The project found grass growth in NI was below average for most of 2024. Across GrassCheck farms, average yields this year stood at 11.09tDM/ha, which is behind the long-term average and is also down on the 2023 average of 11.77tDM/ha.
The 2024 harvest was better than expected given the wet winter and late spring. / Ramona Farrelly
Harvest
The 2024 harvest for both winter and spring crops was better than expected; given the wet winter and late spring. Yields held up well in most cases and favourable weather conditions in the late summer and autumn allowed grain to be harvested and straw to be baled in good condition.
Inheritance tax
The Autumn Budget in late October was a bombshell for NI farmers. A new £1m limit on agricultural and business property relief for inheritance tax from April 2026 led to protests across the UK. This included an unprecedented turnout of over 6,000 farmers at a rally near Lisburn which was organised by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) in November.
Even when peak numbers came forward in the summer, there remained a firm floor in the lamb trade. \ Houston Green
Just transition
There remains little detail about the long awaited “just transition fund for agriculture”. The need to set up a fund to help NI farmers meet environmental targets was included in climate change legislation in 2022. Farmer representatives want this to be new money, and not a reallocation of existing farm support funds.
KPMG
A report by consultancy firm KPMG in February found that DAERA’s proposals for new planning permission rules for farm sheds could hit incomes by up to 38% on the average pig farm. The ammonia emission rules could reduce average beef farm incomes by 30%, dairy by 21%, broiler units by 8% and laying hen units by 7%.
William Irvine was elected UFU president in May. \ Houston Green
Lamb trade
The presence of buyers from both Britain and the Republic of Ireland helped drive lamb prices in local marts throughout 2024 and put pressure on NI factories to keep pace. Even when peak numbers came forward in the summer, there remained a firm floor in the lamb trade. The year finished on a high with £7/kg up to 23kg available from local plants.
Milk pricing
The largest milk processor in NI, Lakeland Dairies, announced in May that it will move all suppliers to an A+B-C milk pricing model by January 2026. Other milk buyers in NI are also moving towards paying for milk solids rather than volume. Dale Farm is not moving to A+B-C, although it made changes to its increment payments to encourage higher constituent milk.
Access to veterinary medicines in NI after 2025 remains a key Brexit related problem. / David Ruffles.
NIEA
In June, it was revealed that Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir found £2.4m in savings across his department and £1.6m of this was being used to recruit new staff for the NI Environment Agency (NIEA). The new recruits will be used to communicate advice to farmers about water quality, as well as for inspections and enforcement.
Opt-in
Beef finishers who want to claim the £75 headage payment for NI-born prime cattle have to “opt-in” to the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme before the end of the year. In mid-December, the UFU said over 1,000 farm business still had to opt-in to the scheme.
Penalties
It came to light in August that the number of penalties handed out to NI farmers by DAERA inspectors increased again last year.
There were 978 rule breaches found during cross-compliance inspections in 2023, up from 933 the year before. In 2021, there were 561 breaches identified during checks and only 294 violations were found the year before that.
Quango
Another semi-public body, known as a quango, took a step closer to being established. A review into setting up an independent environmental protection agency was launched in November.
A new green body to take powers away from the existing NIEA has been a long-running ask from environmental campaigners.
Reactors
The number of bovine TB reactors taken off NI farms broke all records again this year. The latest figures show that there were 20,619 reactors during the 12-month period to the end of October 2024. It represents a 16% increase on the same period a year earlier.
Suckler payment
Details of the upcoming Suckler Cow Scheme have been slow to emerge in 2024. The new headage payment for sucklers has been put back by three months until 1 April 2025, although the UFU has called for it to be delayed until 1 January 2026 to fit in better with spring calving patterns.
Transition year
The first year of the new Farm Sustainability Payment in 2025 is set to be a transition year with minimal changes. DAERA announced in November that most of the key changes will come into effect from 2026. This will likely include a new set of rules and requirements to be eligible for the area-based payment.
Unused fund
Farmers in NI got an unexpected, albeit small, payment in early October. The BPS top-up equated to less than 1% of the overall scheme budget. The money came from remaining funds from the 2023/24 budget.
Vet medicines
Access to veterinary medicines in NI after 2025 remains a key Brexit-related problem and no solution emerged this year. Vet medicines in NI are required to comply with EU regulations and there is a risk that products from Britain could be discontinued when a grace period expires at the end of next year.
William Irvine
Armagh dairy farmer William Irvine was elected UFU president in May, taking over from David Brown. The Mountnorris man had served as UFU deputy president for four years and had numerous other roles within the union before that, including dairy committee chair.
Xeric
The word xeric describes conditions with little moisture. Whilst there were no drought conditions in drier parts of NI this summer, there was less rain than usual throughout the autumn and early winter. It helped extend the grazing season and even allowed for late cuts of silage.
YFCU
There was a change of personnel at the top of the Young Farmers’ Club of Ulster during 2024. Richard Beattie was elected president in April, taking over from Stuart Mills. Later in the year, Derek Lough was appointed chief executive, replacing Gillian McKeown.
Zone three
The Soil Nutrient Health Scheme continues to be rolled out across NI. Farms in zone three, which covers the northwest, are being soil sampled this winter. The fourth and final zone in the northeast will be sampled during 2025/26.
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