This is a subscriber-only article
The average income on suckler farms in 2019 was €9,188, an increase of 11% on 2018 levels, according to the National Farm Survey.
Teagasc has said that the increase in support payments made available under the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) was responsible for the overall increase in income.
The provision of additional support payments in the form of BEAM added €780 to the average suckler farm in 2019, while payments under the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme (BEEP) were worth on average €482 in 2019.
In 2019, average gross output on suckler farms increased by 2% year on year to €36,715, with the average direct payment increasing by 12% to €14,706.
The average gross margin on a per-hectare basis was €763 in 2019, an increase of 4%.
Costs decrease
Total production costs on these farms fell slightly in 2019, down 1% for the average farm relative to the previous year.
The main driver in the 8% decrease in direct costs, which fell to €12,363 on the average farm, was spending on feed.
“Expenditure on concentrate feed decreased by 20% on average to €3,197, with purchased bulky feed expenditure also down by 22% on the previous year.
“Fertiliser expenditure decreased by 8%, due to both a fall in usage and increase in price, with the average farm spending €2,306 in 2019.
“As with other farm systems in 2019, spending on contracting charges also decreased on cattle-rearing farms, down 2% to €2,978 on average,” according to the National Farm Survey.
Teagasc noted that there was a 4% increase in farm size to almost 32ha on the average suckler farm in 2019, with the proportion of rented land declining and total livestock units increased, up 4% compared with 2018, to 36.7 on average.
Cattle finishers
On cattle finishing farms, there was a reduction in production costs in 2019 as feed use fell by 11% from the elevated levels required in 2018.
However, the fall in cattle prices in 2019 offset the benefit of lower costs, Teagasc said.
Even with the additional support made available under BEAM, the average income level of finishing farms fell by 6% to €13,893 in 2019.
On average, beef finishing farms received €1,548 per farm in 2019 from the scheme.
Costs
In 2019, total costs decreased by 3% on finishing farms year on year.
On average, direct production costs decreased by 6%, with expenditure on purchased concentrates down 12% to €6,889 on average, Teagasc said.
“Expenditure on purchased bulky feed also fell 38% to €572 on average. As with other drystock systems, expenditure on fertiliser decreased in 2019, falling by 8% to €3,216 on average.
“However, expenditure of contracting charges in 2019 increased by 6% to €3,785. Expenditure relating to livestock and veterinary in 2019 increased by 7% compared to 2018,” the survey said.
The average gross margin per hectare on finishing farms was €888 in 2019, up marginally on 2018. This included a basic payment of €299 per hectare.
SHARING OPTIONS: