A gap is opening up in Irish farming between a small group of commercialfarmers who make a profit and a growing number of part-timers who could not survive without off-farm income, writes Seán MacConnell
It has been said of Irish farmers that they are not afraid of bad weather, just a postal strike. That joke, be it in good or bad taste, was never more relevant than today.
Some 90 per cent of income from farming activities comes in the form of "a cheque in the post" from Europe or the Government.
Last year, according to Teagasc figures released on Monday, direct payments and subsidies increased by an average of €2,000, from €11,473 in 2001 to €13,436.
It went some way towards off-setting the decline in product price, but it will not keep the smaller farmer on the land unless he or she can find an off-farm job.
Nearly 37 per cent of the €1.6 billion payout went to the top 20 per cent of producers in farming and 10 per cent went to the bottom 20 per cent.
While farm income declined from €15,840 in 2001 to €14,927 last year - a 5 per cent decline - it was only €700 more than farmers earned from their lands in 1995.
The Teagasc figures painted a picture of a small commercial group of farmers who are managing to survive and a growing number of part-timers who could not survive without off-farm income.
Cattle farmers, for instance, had average farm incomes last year of €7,752 while the average in the dairy system was just over €28,000.
One of the most telling figures was that only 8 per cent of farms had family farm income exceeding €40,000 and 74 per cent of these were in the dairying system.
On 48 per cent of farms, the farmer and/or his spouse had an off-farm job and on 35 per cent of farms, this job was carried out by the farmer, with the highest incidence of off-farm employment occurring in the drystock (cattle and sheep production) areas.
"Overall, on 75 per cent of farms, the farmer and/or the spouse had some source of off-farm income, be it from employment, pension or social assistance," the report added.
When compiling the figures, the income from a spouse or adult child living on a farm was not included in farm income, only that of the farmer.
Approximately 60 per cent of farms in the State - 69,900 farms in all - were part-time last year and almost 90 per cent of these were in beef or sheep production; the average income generated on a part-time farm was estimated to be €6,591.
This is probably the best indicator that farmers will opt later in the year to decouple cattle and sheep production from the direct payment system.
Many part-timers and older farmers will be quite content to cease production or to cut back, sure in the knowledge they will still receive a cheque in the post.
Teagasc concluded that 20 per cent of farms had an income from farming greater than €25,000 and this showed a 1 per cent decline from 2001.
However, despite the complaints from the farming community about hard times, agricultural land is not easy to come by and does not appear to be linked to farm incomes.
For instance, in 1991, 14,000 hectares of land went up for sale and changed hands. In 2001, that figure dropped to just over 5,000 hectares.
The price of land has gone in the other direction. That graph goes ever upward from a low of €5,000 a hectare in 1991 to €31,000 per hectare 10 years later.
Most land remains within families who complain that prices are being driven up by hobbyist farmers, mainly rich business people who want to own land as a status symbol.
Large farmers also do well from another variety of "cheque in the post".
Higher Education Authority (HEA) reports led to some political debate about whether the means test for the Higher Education Grant system adequately assessed the wealth of large farmers.
A quarter of of students from farms of 200 acres or more received assistance at a university or an institute of technology in 1998.
More than 200 students from large farms received grants intended for parents whose income level was below about £20,000.
Those living near their college received £826, with those living further away getting £1,652 for the year.
The HEA said students from larger farms were "over represented" at third level and that the children of smaller farmers were "under represented".