Farmers average only €1,360 from marketplace

THE average income Irish farmers earned from the marketplace in 2005 has been estimated at only €1,360, having fallen 32% since 2004.

But direct payments made to farmers by the Department of Agriculture under CAP schemes brought average Family Farm Income (FFI) to €22,459, according to Teagasc’s National Farm Survey of 1,177 farms.

This FFI was 44% increased from 2004, thanks to direct payments increasing by 56% — because farmers got a once-off payment averaging €5,266 of arrears from the coupled premium system, plus the new Single Payment.