This is a subscriber-only article
Provisional estimates published by DAERA suggest that 2021 was one of the best ever years for farm incomes in NI, with a headline total income from farming (TIFF) figure up 8.3% to £501m.
If that estimate is confirmed later in the year, it will only be the second time that the TIFF has crossed the £500m barrier. In 2017, it was recorded at £535m.
TIFF measures the return to farmers for their labour, management input and own capital invested. It includes direct payments to farmers, which are estimated for 2021 at £308m.
In each of the last five years, total farm incomes have been above direct payments.
However, prior to that, in most of the years from 2009 to 2016, TIFF was less than what farmers received by way of support.
In other words, farmers were totally reliant on direct payments for their incomes in these years.
Output by sector
Total farm incomes are up in 2021 on the back of higher gross output, which rose 9% to £2.43bn.
Dairying is the largest sector, with output of £805m, which is up 20% due to higher prices and more milk produced.
Cattle (beef) production is next at £485m, up 7%, followed by poultry at £325m, pigs at £209m, eggs at £125m, sheep at £95m and field crops at £84m.
All sectors recorded an increase in output in 2021 except pigs. While the pig sector did increase production volume by 4%, prices were down 5% on average, when compared with the previous year.
Input costs
While output is up, so too are input costs, which increased by 10% in 2021 to £1.72bn.
Feed stuffs account for 56% of the input total and saw a 12% increase in price per tonne.
The amount of fertiliser bought fell 8%, but a 26% increase in price meant overall cost was up 15%. Total expenditure on fertiliser and lime came to £96m.
Higher fuel and oil costs saw machinery expenses rise 8% to £152m.
Farm incomes
Given the current market for fertiliser and feed, these input costs are set to rocket in 2022 and that will not be fully recognised in the DAERA figures until next year.
The data currently points to incomes across individual sectors being in good shape, with an average across all farms of £34,402 in 2020/21, projected to rise to a new record high of £39,741 in 2021/21.
These income figures are based on farm accounts collected as part of the DAERA farm business survey.
The farms in the survey have a standard labour requirement of at least 0.5, so it is essentially a dataset reflecting the top 40% of farms in NI by size.
Across the sectors, the biggest increase in incomes in 2021/22 is projected for cereals (78%), followed by dairy (31%).
Incomes on cattle and sheep farms are largely unchanged, although pig farms are projected to take a significant hit, falling 56% due to lower market returns and higher feed costs.
SHARING OPTIONS: