Top dairy farmers earn €61,500 more per year

The top 10% of dairy farmers made €61,500 more profit last year than the bottom 10% of those with equivalent herd sizes, AIB agri- specialists have reminded those with expansion plans.

“There are big opportunities with dairy expansion, but there are also big challenges,” AIB agri-adviser Tadhg Buckley told AIB’s ‘Prospects for Irish Agriculture’ seminar in Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork.

“Expansion must be done for the right reasons. There is a great opportunity, but it is not for everybody. The dairy sector in Northern Ireland has expanded by 40% in terms of yield per cow since 1995, but they are still less profitable than farmers in the South.”