Irish farmers the youngest in EU

THE age structure of farmers has improved during the past decade, a Teagasc economist told a conference in Cork yesterday.

Teagasc National Farm Survey chief Liam Connolly said Irish farmers are now younger than their EU counterparts.

The 2000 Census of Agriculture shows that 13% of Irish farmers are under 35 years compared to an EU average of 11%. Twenty percent of them are over 65 compared to 28% for the EU as a whole.