THERE IS a continuing decline in Irish farm family income caused by a general fall in farm incomes and the fact that 30 per cent of farmers have lost their off-farm jobs between 2008 and 2009.
Research by farm advisory service Teagasc found a significant fall in farm household incomes relative to non-farm households over the past 20 years.
Dr Cathal O’Donoghue, head of the Teagasc rural economy research centre, warned there was a continuing trend towards higher rural poverty.
The average farm income was estimated to have fallen by 30 per cent in 2009 to €12,000 per farm, the lowest income since 1999.
He told a conference in Portlaoise, Co Laois, that the decline had taken place despite the rise in off-farm incomes, which now account for more than half of all farm household income.
Particularly worrying from a farming point of view was the continued cost-price squeeze, putting further pressure on margins.
The Economics of Agriculture conference heard that an improvement in income was likely in 2010.
Liam Connolly, head of the National Farm Survey, said Teagasc anticipated milk prices and dairy farm margins should begin to recover this year, but it may be next year before the sector returned to normal profitability.
He said farm-gate prices plummeted last year and resulted in the largest annual decline in farm incomes in decades. The dairy sector suffered the largest drop in incomes due to the fall in milk prices.
Trevor Donnellan and Paul Smith told the session while cattle prices were forecast to rise by 4 per cent in 2010, more than two-thirds of cattle farms were likely to continue making a loss from cattle farming this year.
Teagasc economist Daragh Clancy predicted a rise in cereal prices and a reduction in costs in 2010. All cereal farmers lost money last year. Predictions were also positive for pig producers and sheep farmers.