"Small farms should be compensated for environmental and social work"

Tegasc's Head of Economics Trevor Donnellan. Picture: Teagasc

Small farms (defined as selling no more than €8,000 of output per year) are "almost the ideal type of agriculture from an environmental perspective", according to Teagasc researchers who surveyed them.

Unfortunately, they have "very, very low levels of income coming in from farming".

The survey indicated that a lot of these farms are supported by off-farm employment or pension income.

The Head of Economics at Teagasc, Trevor Donnellan, chatted about the latest National Farm Survey Small Farms Report, in a recent Environment Edge podcast.

He explained that more than 48,000 of Ireland's 135,000 farms are particularly small, in economic terms. The Teagasc National Farm Survey looks at these farms every five years, with data for the current report gathered in 2022.

“While these farms are not generating a huge amount of agricultural output, they do take up 15% of the agricultural land area, and we think they’re important from an environmental perspective as well, because it’s a very extensive form of agriculture, with very low stocking rates, minimal use of fertilisers", said Mr Donnellan. "In some people’s minds, this would be almost the ideal type of agriculture from an environmental perspective.

"The downside of it, of course, is that you don’t produce very much food, and you don’t produce very much income either”.

“At the same time, the amount of labour that needs to be put in typically wouldn’t be huge. We’re talking typically one third of a labour unit, so one-third of a working year as such is required to operate these farms. That means that it’s probably more feasible on these farms than on bigger farms to have some off-farm employment".

Mr Donnellan said 53% of the small farms are beef specialists, and 19% are sheep specialists.

Enjoyment of farm work was the main motivating factor cited by the operators of small farms. Managing their farms in an environmentally friendly way was also cited as an important reason for farming by almost all respondents. Continuing the family tradition and maintaining a good quality of life were also considered very important by the majority.

So, with that mind, what is the long-term sustainability of this small farm sector?

Mr Donnellan said: “It’s an important lifestyle choice from their perspective, being your own boss, the way of life that’s involved, and it’s the pleasure of farming".

The group surveyed had an average age of about 60, compared to about 58 in the broader National Farm Survey. 

“There’s a higher share of female farm operators in the small farms than you would see in the broader farm population. The figure was around 19%”, said Mr Donnellan. That compares to about 10% of larger farms being managed by women.

Small farm operators aged 60 and over were asked in the survey about succession. 

“A little over half of the farm operators, 56% of them, had identified a successor," Mr Donnellan said.

About 75% of these small farms had been inherited, and about 18% had been purchased.

The small farmers were asked what their plans were over the next five years. “About one-third of them said they expected to continue farming as is, about a quarter said that they would consider leasing out the farm, and about 20% of them said they would think about changing the farm system or scaling back farming activities," said Mr Donnellan. "There were a bunch of other smaller options as well, which were in some cases a mix of all three, and other options as well".

One of the interesting survey findings was that not too many small farmers expect the advent of remote and home-working to improve their future prospects”. 

Mr Donnellan said: “It could reflect the type of jobs or off-farm work that farmers are more typically engaged in".

A possibly related finding is that, In some areas, only about 50% of the farmers had access to broadband. However, about half said they were using their phone or broadband to some degree for an activity related to agriculture.

According to Teagasc, small farms face challenges related to emissions efficiency and economic viability, but their role in maintaining biodiversity and managing nutrients more effectively per hectare underscores their importance in sustainable agriculture.

Mr Donnellan said a monetary value should be placed on their contribution, not just in terms of environmental benefits, but also their role in rural life. “They’re really intrinsic to the local communities. Sometimes these farmers are the bedrock of the community, and it’s important to protect them”.