Border region lags behind in operating surpluses
The border region lagged behind the rest of the country when it came to increases in operating surpluses.
That was the finding of a CSO report called ‘Regional Accounts for Agriculture 2022’.
It detailed that the Border region’s (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) high (51%) dependence on livestock was behind it having the lowest rate of increase in operating surplus.
It still grew by 18% to €480 million in 2022 (up from €408m in 2021), the CSO stated. Other interesting findings for the border region was that it produced 71% of the country’s poultry and 25% of both its sheep and pigs in 2022.
The CSO’s data revealed the uneven experiences of farmers in the different geographical areas and its impact on income generation.
The Border Region was followed closely by the west, which had an operating surplus growth rate of 19% to €523 million.
The west region had the highest dependency on livestock, which accounted for 52% (€597 million) of the region’s output, and it was also the largest producer of sheep in the state, creating 28% (€105 million) of national output.
Commenting on the latest data, Mairead Griffin, statistician in the Agricultural Accounts and Production Section, CSO, said: “This release provides a regional breakdown of the country’s agricultural outputs, inputs, and income.
“While at a national level, operating surplus grew by 28% in 2022, at a regional level, the growth rates were spread between a low of 18% and a high of 51%”, she said. “The significant spread of these rates can be explained by the composition of farm types within the regions. The performance of the different outputs, their relative importance to a region’s agriculture output and the rise in the main input costs incurred by the various farm types, all affected the regional rate of growth in operating surplus,” she concluded.
The Dublin and mid-east region (Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow) was the largest producer of crops in the state, accounting for 26% (€683 million) of the state’s total.
Elsewhere the south-west region of Cork and Kerry accounted for 31% of Irish milk output in 2022, making it the largest milk-producing region in the state, which adds up to €1.6 billion in milk output, with milk generating 55% of the region’s agricultural output according to the CSO data.
Meanwhile the west (Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon) was the smallest producer of agricultural output in Ireland, generating just 9% (€1.1 billion) of Irish agricultural output at basic prices.
The mid-west (Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary) was the largest livestock and second largest milk and poultry producing region in 2022, supplying 20% (€594 million) of the country’s cattle, 21% (€1 billion) of its milk, and 10% (€20 million) of its poultry output.
“Cereal and milk production were the best performers in 2022,” said Ms Griffin of the CSO.
“The value of cereals increased by 60%, mainly due to prices rising by an average of 52%. Milk also performed very well during the year, with stronger prices resulting in its value growing by 48%. By comparison, the value of livestock production rose by just 14%.
“While the value of almost all outputs grew in 2022, the impact of the higher output values was tempered by a 29% increase in intermediate consumption costs for the year. The cost of fertilisers doubled while the cost of feeding stuffs grew by 30%.”