Incomes fell 13% in real terms says IFA

By Ray Ryan FARM incomes fell by 8.5% this year, according to provisional estimates published by the Central Statistics Office.

But the IFA said that it is a decline of almost 13% in real terms, allowing for inflation, and makes 2002 by far the worst year in farming in the past decade.

John Dillon, president, said that while bad weather contributed to the problem, the greatest cause of the decline in farm incomes is low prices in 2002 for the main products, cattle, milk, pigmeat and cereals.