One in three farms are ‘economically vulnerable’

Almost one in three farm households nationally and half of all farms in the Border region are in an economically vulnerable position.

This was the main conclusion from a report analysing the viability of the farming sector published by Teagasc yesterday.

The report, based on the Teagasc National Farm Survey, found that 37% of farm businesses were economically viable in 2014. A further 31% of farms were only sustainable because of the presence of income earned outside of farming.