Northern Ireland agricultural incomes in 2024
Date published:
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has published the first (provisional) estimate for farm incomes in 2024. Revisions have been made to previous years.
Aggregate Agricultural Income
Provisional figures indicate that the ‘Total Income from Farming’ (TIFF) in Northern Ireland increased by 62.5% (56.2% in real terms) from £471million in 2023 to £766million in 2024.
TIFF represents the return on own labour, management input and own capital invested for all those with an entrepreneurial involvement in farming. It represents farm income measured at the sector level. Graph 1 shows TIFF from 1990 to 2024.
Total Gross Output for agriculture in Northern Ireland was 8% higher at £3.19billion in 2024. There was a 9% increase in the value of output from the livestock sector, while field crops increased by 3% and horticulture increased by 10%. These figures are for the calendar year and therefore they represent the outturn across two harvest years. Graph 2 shows Northern Ireland Agricultural Gross Output from 1990 to 2024.
Dairying remains the largest contributor to the total value of Gross Output at £1.1billion in 2024; an increase of 21% between 2023 and 2024. The annual average farm-gate milk price increased by 17% to 41.0 pence per litre while the volume of raw milk produced in Northern Ireland increased by 4% to 2.6 billion litres.
The output value of cattle was 4% higher at £658million in 2024. The total number of animals slaughtered increased by 8.3% in 2024, whereas the average carcase weights for clean and cull animals were both 0.3% lower. These changes resulted in the volume of meat produced being 8.2% higher in 2024. The average producer price for finished clean cattle was £4.78 per kilogram in 2024 while the average producer price for cull animals was £3.17 per kilogram. The prices for finished clean cattle were 4% higher while cull cattle prices were 2% lower than their 2023 averages. In addition to these changes, there was also a stock change of minus £36 million due to a reduction in the number of cattle on ground between 2023 and 2024.
The value of output from sheep increased by 8% to £123million in 2024. The total number of sheep slaughtered decreased by 9% in 2024 whereas the average carcass weight increased by 1% to 22 kilograms. Volume of sheep meat produced decreased by 8% in 2024. The average producer price increased by 16% to £6.39 per kg.
The value of output in the poultry sector decreased by 7% to £356million in 2024 while the egg sector increased by 16% to £264million. The value of the pig sector also decreased by 1% to £295million. All intensive sectors recorded an increase in production volumes, with poultry up by 3%, eggs up by 7%, and pigs up 1% compared with the previous year. Producer prices in the poultry and pig sectors decreased by 10% and 3% respectively, whereas, the producer price for eggs increased by 8%.
The total output value for field crops increased by 3% in 2024 to £89million. The value of output for cereals decreased by 6% to £38million whereas the value of output for potatoes increased by 10% to £34million. Value for other crops increased by 16% to £17million. Output values for field crops are across a calendar year and include production from two harvests.
The value of output recorded in the Horticulture sector was higher year on year for 2024, at £93million. Mushrooms are the main contributor to this sector in value terms with an estimated output value of £40million.
The estimated value of the 2024 direct payments (Basic Payment Scheme, Young Farmers’ and Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme Payments) was £304million, representing an increase of 1%, when compared with the 2023 payments.
The total value of Gross Inputs decreased by 3% in 2024, to £2.09billion. Graph 3 shows the breakdown of Northern Ireland Agricultural Gross Input from 1990 to 2024. Feedstuffs costs, which accounted for 57% of the total Gross Input estimate, decreased by 4% to £1.18billion in 2024. There was a 7% increase in the volume of feedstuffs purchased and a 12% decrease in the average price paid per tonne.
The total cost of fertilisers in 2024 decreased by 11% with a 21% increase in the volume purchased and a 27% decrease in the average price paid per tonne. There was also a 16% rise in the value of total lime purchases, with the result that total expenditure on fertilisers and lime decreased by 10% to £101million.
Total machinery expenses decreased by 1% to £199million in 2024, as a result of an 8% decrease in the cost of fuel and oils.
A detailed document covering the period 2019–2024 and containing all the key figures used to derive TIFF in Northern Ireland can be downloaded from the DAERA website.
Estimates for the United Kingdom were released on 05 June 2025 and can be downloaded from the DEFRA website.
Farm level incomes
Farm Business Income by farm type for 2023/24 with forecasts for 2024/25 are presented in graph 4 and table 1. These income results are based on farm accounts collected as part of the Northern Ireland Farm Business Survey (FBS). This is a representative sample of farms larger than 0.5 Standard Labour Requirements. The income figures presented are for accounting years with an average end date of mid-February.
Farm Business Income measured across all farm types is expected to increase from an average £29,260 in 2023/24 to £60,622 in 2024/25, i.e. an increase of £31,361 or 107% per farm.
Farm Business Income is also expected to increase (by varying amounts) for each of the individual farm types between 2023/24 and 2024/25. In each case the upturn in their incomes is attributable to lower feed and fertiliser prices combined with more favourable prices for milk, beef, and lamb in the 2024/25 year. Additionally, there was better overall cereal yields experienced during the 2024/25 year.
A detailed analysis of farm incomes by type and size of farm in 2023/24 will be provided in the report ‘Farm Incomes in Northern Ireland 2023/24’ which will be published on the DAERA website in July 2025.
Notes to editors:
1. A wide range of statistics are available on the DAERA website and also via Twitter: @DAERAstats.
2. Provisional aggregate income figures for the UK were issued in June 2025 on the government portal.
3. The Northern Ireland estimates were prepared using provisional figures and are subject to revision when more complete data becomes available later in the year.
4. ‘Total Income from Farming’ measures the return to farmers, partners and directors, their spouses and other family workers for their labour, management input and own capital invested. It, therefore, represents the total income of all those with an entrepreneurial involvement in farming.
5. Farm level income estimates by farm type are based on the Department’s Farm Business Survey, for which the account year ends on average in mid February, whereas the aggregate income estimate – Total Income from Farming - is compiled on a calendar year basis.
6. Farm Business Income is the return to all unpaid labour (farmer, spouses and others with an entrepreneurial interest in the farm business) and to their capital invested in the farm business which includes land and buildings.
7. As income estimates by farm type are based on data collected from a sample of the farm population, they are subject to sampling error. To give an indication of this, the Farm Business Income results by Farm Type for 2023/24 and their associated 95% confidence intervals (as range bars) are shown in figure 1. For each farm type, Figure 1 shows the estimated average Farm Business Income and the range of values that apply to it, i.e. we are 95% confident that the true average Farm Business Income for the farm type falls within the range shown. It is important to note that the size of a confidence interval is influenced by a variety of factors such as number of farms sampled and the variability of incomes within sampled farms.
8. For UK statistical purposes, farms are grouped into 10 ‘robust’ farm types which have particular relevance to UK conditions i.e. Cereals, General Cropping, Horticulture, Specialist Pigs, Specialist Poultry, Dairy, Cattle & Sheep (LFA), Cattle & Sheep (Lowland), Mixed and Other. The system for the classification of farms into these types is based on that set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/220 and explained in greater detail in the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) Typology Handbook RI/CC 1500 rev.4.
9. The EU and UK system for classification of farms was revised in 2011. Farms are now classified in terms of Standard Output (SO) compared to Standard Gross Margin (SGM) used previously. Further details of the impact of this change are presented in the report ‘Farm Incomes in Northern Ireland 2010/11’ which is available on the DAERA website.
10. For UK statistical purposes, farms are also grouped into size categories based on their total Standard Labour Requirement (SLR). The total SLR for each farm business is calculated by multiplying its crop areas and livestock numbers by the associated SLR coefficients and then summing the results for all enterprises on the farm. This is then divided by 1900 to determine the number of standard labour requirements for the farm (i.e. 1 SLR is equivalent to 1900 hours).
11. At June 2023 there were 26,131 farms in Northern Ireland of which 9,659 were above 0.5 SLRs.
12. The ‘Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture, 2024’, due to be issued on the DAERA website during July 2025, will contain details of the output, input and income estimates for 2024, as well as information on livestock numbers, crop areas and yields, farm structure, employment and farm business performance.
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