Northern Ireland agricultural incomes in 2025
Date published:
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has published the first (provisional) estimate for farm incomes in 2025. 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 40.5% (35.6% in real terms) from £736million in 2024 to £1.03billion in 2025.
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 (www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/ni-agricultural-incomes) shows TIFF from 1990 to 2025.
Total Gross Output for agriculture in Northern Ireland was 12% higher at £3.62billion in 2025. There was a 13% increase in the value of output from the livestock sector, while field crops increased by 0.3% and horticulture decreased by 9%. These figures are for the calendar year and therefore they represent the outturn across two harvest years. Graph 2 (www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/ni-agricultural-incomes) shows Northern Ireland Agricultural Gross Output from 1990 to 2025.
Dairying remains the largest contributor to the total value of Gross Output at £1.2billion in 2025; an increase of 11% between 2024 and 2025. The annual average farm-gate milk price increased by 3% to 42.5 pence per litre while the volume of raw milk produced in Northern Ireland increased by 8% to 2.8billion litres.
The output value of cattle was 37% higher at £898 million in 2025. The total number of animals slaughtered decreased by 4.4% in 2025, whereas the average carcase weights for clean and cull animals were 0.9% and 0.1% higher respectively. These changes resulted in the volume of meat produced being 3.6% lower in 2025. The average producer price for finished clean cattle was £6.33 per kilogram in 2025 while the average producer price for cull animals was £4.88 per kilogram. These prices were 32% and 54% higher than their respective averages for 2024. In addition to these changes, there was also a stock change of minus £7million due to a reduction in the number of cattle on ground between 2024 and 2025.
The value of output from sheep decreased by 6% to £120million in 2025. The total number of sheep slaughtered decreased by 16% in 2025 whereas the average carcass weight increased by 3% to 22.6 kilograms. The volume of sheep meat produced decreased by 14% in 2025. The average producer price increased by 2% to £6.55 per kg.
The value of output in the poultry sector decreased by 13% to £304million in 2025 while the egg sector increased by 17% to £317million. The value of output in the pig sector also decreased by 1% to £294million. The poultry sector recorded an 8% decrease in its production volume for 2025, whereas the pigs and eggs sectors recorded a 2% and 17% increase in their respective production volumes when compared with their previous year levels. Producer prices in the poultry and pig sectors decreased by 5% and 3% respectively, whereas the producer price for eggs increased by 1%.
The total output value for field crops increased by 0.3% in 2025 to £89million. The value of output for cereals increased by 10% to £42million whereas the value of output for potatoes decreased by 16% to £28million. The value of output for other crops increased by 10% to £19million. 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 lower year on year for 2025, at £85million. Mushrooms are the main contributor to this sector in value terms with an estimated output value of £41million.
The estimated value of the 2025 direct payments (Basic Payment Scheme, Young Farmers’, Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme and Suckler Cow Scheme Payments) was £303million, representing a decrease of 1%, when compared with the 2024 payments.
The total value of Gross Inputs increased by 2% in 2025, to £2.18 billion. Graph 3 (www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/ni-agricultural-incomes) shows the breakdown of Northern Ireland Agricultural Gross Input from 1990 to 2025. Feedstuffs costs, which accounted for 55% of the total Gross Input estimate, decreased by 0.1% to £1.19billion in 2025. There was a 6% increase in the volume of feedstuffs purchased and a 6% decrease in the average price paid per tonne.
The total cost of fertilisers in 2025 increased by 33%, with a 20% increase in the volume purchased and a 10% increase in the average price paid per tonne. There was also a 19% rise in the value of total lime purchases, with the result that total expenditure on fertilisers and lime increased by 32% to £133million.
Total machinery expenses increased by 1% to £212million in 2025, as a result of a 5% increase in the cost of repairs, partially offset by a 3% decrease in the cost of fuel and oils.
A detailed document covering the period 2020–2025 and containing all the key figures used to derive TIFF in Northern Ireland can be downloaded from the DAERA website: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/ni-agricultural-incomes
Estimates for the United Kingdom were released on 30 June 2026 and can be downloaded from the DEFRA website: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/total-income-from-farming-in-the-uk
Farm level incomes
Farm Business Income by farm type for 2024/25 with forecasts for 2025/26 are presented in graph 4 and table 1 (www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/ni-agricultural-incomes). 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 whereas the Aggregate Agricultural Income measure (Total Income from Farming) is compiled on a calendar year basis. This difference in accounting year periods can result in differences between the level of income change between years shown by each measure as is the case this year when milk prices were substantially lower during January and February 2026 when compared to January and February 2025.
Farm Business Income measured across all farm types is expected to increase from an average £56,390 in 2024/25 to £66,840 in 2025/26, i.e. an increase of £10,450 or 19% per farm.
Farm Business Income is also expected to increase (by varying amounts) for Dairy, Cattle and Sheep (LFA), Cattle and Sheep (lowland), and Mixed farm types between 2024/25 and 2025/26. For these farms, the upturn in their incomes is attributable to more favourable beef prices in the 2025/26 year. Whereas, Farm Business Income for Pig farms are expected to fall by 2% due to lower pig prices in the 2025/26 year.
A detailed analysis of farm incomes by type and size of farm in 2024/25 will be provided in the report ‘Farm Incomes in Northern Ireland 2024/25’ which will be published on the DAERA website in September 2026.
Notes to editors:
- A wide range of statistics are available on the DAERA website: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/topics/statistics and also via X: @DAERAstats.
- Provisional aggregate income figures for the UK were issued in June 2026 on the government portal Total income from farming in the UK - Publications - GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/total-income-from-farming-in-the-uk
- The Northern Ireland estimates were prepared using provisional figures and are subject to revision when more complete data becomes available later in the year.
- ‘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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 2024/25 and their associated 95% confidence intervals (as range bars) are shown in figure 1 (www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/ni-agricultural-incomes). For each farm type, figure 1 (www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/ni-agricultural-incomes) 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.
- 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.
- 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: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/farm-incomes-northern-ireland
- 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).
- At June 2024 there were 26,190 farms in Northern Ireland of which 9,487 were above 0.5 SLRs.
- The ‘Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture, 2025’, due to be issued on the DAERA website: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/statistical-review-ni-agriculture during September 2026, will contain details of the output, input and income estimates for 2025, as well as information on livestock numbers, crop areas and yields, farm structure, employment and farm business performance.
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