Young farmers warns of tillage succession crisis

676 farmers exit in 2026

Macra has warned of a growing succession crisis in Irish tillage, after Department of Agriculture figures showed 676 farmers left the sector in 2026.

The number of tillage farmers fell from 11,440 in 2025 to 10,764 this year, while the area under tillage declined to an estimated 344,675 hectares.

Macra National President Josephine O’Neill said the figures should serve as a wake-up call for Government, particularly as Ireland aims to increase tillage area to 400,000 hectares by 2030.

“At the current rate of decline, if 676 farmers were to leave the sector every year, Ireland would have no tillage farmers left within 16 years,” she said, adding that the situation highlighted the urgency of the challenges facing growers.

While welcoming Budget 2027’s €54 million tillage support package, Ms O’Neill said financial assistance alone would not secure the sector’s future without viable markets and profitable farm businesses.

“If we are losing hundreds of tillage farmers in a single year, we need to ask who will be there to grow this grain in ten or twenty years’ time. Succession is not simply an issue for dairy, beef and sheep farms – it is an issue for tillage too,” she said.

Macra is calling for stronger domestic demand for Irish grain, including greater use in whiskey production, food manufacturing and animal feed. The development of Slaney Flour Mills in Wexford was highlighted as an opportunity to reduce reliance on imported flour and support local growers.

Ms O’Neill said tillage supports should be targeted towards young, trained farmers to encourage generational renewal.

Macra said a combination of targeted financial support, stronger markets and viable succession pathways is essential to make tillage an attractive career for the next generation.