Farming income in Laois and Midlands booms by €159 million

The boom in prices being paid for farming produce has seen farmers in Laois and other Midlands counties enjoying the biggest rise in income of any other region, according to new figures.

The income boost is revealed in the Regional Accounts for Agriculture 2024 published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on October 3, which also shows costs falling.

It identifies the improvement for agriculture in (Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath as the number one key finding in the report.

"The Midland region, the second smallest agricultural producing region by output value, saw the value of its agricultural output increase by 11% (+€129m) and its Entrepreneurial Income rise by 111% (+€159m) in 2024," it says.

The report says that at 77%, the Border had the largest increase in operating surplus, followed closely by the Midlands region at 75% and Dublin & Mid-East at 69%.

When net interest and land rental costs are accounted for (i.e. entrepreneurial income), the CSO has found that the ranking of these top three regions changes to the Midlands region (+111%), Border (+91%), and Dublin & Mid-East (+88%). The West (Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon) had the lowest rate of increase in both operating surplus (+34%) and entrepreneurial income (+32%).

The section of the new report on the Midland says the four counties generate 11% of the State’s output. It has the second-highest dependency on cattle, the source of 30% of its agricultural output at basic prices. Pigs accounted for a further 11% of this output while milk was responsible for another 30%. MORE ON THE MIDLANDS BELOW GRAPHIC.

The CSO says Livestock, which generated 46% of the region’s Agricultural Output at Basic Prices, increased by 7% (+€39m) to €606m. This was the highest regional rate of increase and was primarily due to a €29m rise in the value of pig production. This large increase was due to a substantial rise in the number of pigs in the region.

The value of milk rose by 21% (+€68m) to €391m while Crop output grew by 7% (+€15m) to €243m, with forage plants accounting for €10m of this increase.

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Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agricultural Accounts & Production Section, commenting on the release, 

“We reported earlier this year that at a national level there was a significant recovery in agricultural incomes in 2024 after the previous year’s poor results. The value of Agricultural Output at Basic Prices grew by €1bn (+9%) as a result of higher prices and some increases in output volumes.

"Milk prices, while still significantly lower (-15%) than their 2022 levels, were up 17% on 2023. The other large movers in terms of prices were Sheep (+18%), Potatoes (+8%) and Fresh Vegetables (+9%). Output volumes also saw some considerable movement. Both Poultry and Cereal volumes were up 10%, Pig volumes grew by 8%, while Potato volumes rose by 12%.

"Total Intermediate Consumption costs were down 4% (-€290m), with Fertilisers accounting for €216m of this reduction and Feeding Stuffs a further €148m. At the national level, Operating Surplus was up 58% (+€1.6bn) while Entrepreneurial Income, which factors in the cost of land rent and interest payments, increased by 73% (+€1.5bn) in 2024.

"As for costs of production, the CSO finds that intermediate consumption costs decreased by 1% (-€8m) to €811m. Expenditure on rertilisers contracted by 28% (-€21m) to €54m while the cost of feeding stuffs fell by 4% (-€9m) to €238m. The cost of Forage Plants was up by 6% (+€10m) to €177m," she said.

Payments for other subsidies, less taxes on production, increased by 16% (+€24m) to €172m. The region’s operating surplus rose by 75% to €375m while Entrepreneurial Income grew by to €301m.