Input costs likely to fall next year

Farmers got good news at a conference organised by Teagasc in Dublin on Tuesday when they learned that input costs in farming were likely to decline substantially in 2014.

This predicted reduction in costs predominantly applies to grassland farms, where the volume of feed, and its cost, are both set to fall. Fertiliser costs are also set to be lower in 2014.

An improved global cereal harvest in 2013 has already led to a fall in cereal prices, and this is gradually being transmitted into the prices farmers pay for feed.