According to this year’s National Farm Survey, direct payments remained an important source of income for farms across the country in 2024.
Teagasc have said, with timing issues on the 2023 and 2024 payments, the income levels reported may have being affected.
Despite this, they continued by saying that the average payment to farms in 2024 was €21,431, but also highlighted how this figure varies greatly across farm systems.
According to Teagasc, the improvement in economic performance across the sector has meant payments accounted for a smaller share of the average family farm income (FFI) compared to 2023.
National Farm Survey: system breakdown
The report highlighted that the average payment received remained relatively stable on tillage farms and ‘cattle other’, which comprises beef finishing and store cattle enterprises.
Despite this, the average market income (before direct payments are included), remained negative for cattle-rearing and sheep farms, highlighting how these systems rely on this financial support.
All other farms systems experienced an increase in payments compared to previous years, according to the survey.
The average FFI on cattle-rearing farms in 2024 was €13,547, despite an average direct payment of €17,927, meaning farmers were using the payments to cover operating losses.
The larger average payments to tillage and dairy farms is typically due to their larger-size farms in terms of hectares compared to other systems.
The average direct payment received by dairy farms in 2024 was €24,640, while payments to tillage farms remained on average €32,420.
Payment schemes
Pillar 1 payments – including Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) , Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) and Eco-Scheme payments – are generally received by dairy and tillage farms, according to the survey.
Drystock farms typically are more involved in Pillar 2 payments, which consist of Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC), Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), and Organic.
The document also highlighted how over half of cattle-rearing farms took part in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) in 2024, receiving average payments of €3,700.
Over 25% of farms were signed up to ACRES last year, and reportedly received average payments of close to €5,000.
Engagement with the new Organic Farming Scheme among many sheep and tillage farmers in 2024, as participants were paid close to €15,000 on average, according to the report.
Tillage farmers also received an average payment of between €5,000 and €6,000 through schemes such as the Straw Incorporation Measure Scheme and the Protein Scheme.
In terms of sheep, the report states that almost 90% of sheep farms participated in the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIC) last year, receiving an average payment of €3,000 plus.