While the Covid-19 pandemic brought many businesses to a standstill, Northern Ireland’s farmers have been reaping the benefits of a bumper year with incomes up by more than one third.
Latest data from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) show that total income from farming (TIFF) climbed by 34% to £456 million in the full year 2020.
That's good news for the Northern Ireland economy as around 4% of total jobs are employed in the sector, a much higher percentage than other regions of the UK.
The hike has emerged from both an uplift in the volume of products farmers produce and an increase in the price of a number of agricultural commodities, most notably field crops which was up 12%, livestock up 4% and horticulture up 6%. Total output for agricultural products reached £2.23 billion in 2020, a 4% uplift.
That has helped push individual farm incomes up to £33,039 in the 2020-2021 season, a jump of 27% with livestock farmers the biggest beneficiaries of the increase in both output prices and support payments.
Cereal farmers, although enjoying a higher prices for their grain, saw a drop in income as a result of a decrease yields as a result of the inclement weather throughout the year which saw unseasonably dry conditions during the growing season and extremely wet conditions at harvest.
Although only a relatively small part of the overall agricultural mix at output of £62 million, the Northern Ireland cereal sector remains a vital supplier to the much larger livestock sector, not only for grain used to manufacture feed but also for straw used for bedding.
In terms of the mainstay of the agricultural world in Northern Ireland, the dairy sector remains the most dominant, accounting for some £667 million in 2020 while output of beef cattle hit £438 million, sheep £84 million, pigs £217 million, eggs £128 million and poultry £299 million.
Output from all those sectors increased while the cost of inputs only rose by 0.1% to £1.55 billion
Feedstuffs costs, which accounted for 54% of the total Gross Input estimate, increased by 0.1% to £837 million in 2020. There was a 1% decrease in the volume of feedstuffs purchased and a 2% increase in the average price paid per tonne.
The total cost of fertilisers in 2020 decreased by 5% as a net result of a 17% rise in the volume purchased and a 19% decrease in the average price paid per tonne. There was also 27% rise in total lime purchases, with the result that total expenditure on fertilisers and lime reduced by 3% to £83 million.
Total machinery expenses decreased by 5% to £145 million in 2020, mainly as a result of a 12% decrease in the cost of fuel and oils.
