Average farm incomes rise by a third

Farm incomes rose almost a third last year, an income spike likely to be short-lived with falling commodity prices, Teagasc has warned.

According to the Teagasc National Farm Survey 2011 the average farm income reached almost €25,000 last year while on more commercial full-time farms it was around €56,000.

While 15% of all farms have an income of around €50,000, one in five has an income of less than €5,000.