Agri Review 2015

1
REVIEW OF THE AGRI-FOOD
INDUSTRY IN 2014/5

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REVIEW OF THE AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY IN 2014/5
The number of people employed in agriculture, food,
forestry and fishing is 168, 600 (CSO Q3 2014 data).
This compares with 166,900 for the same quarter of the
previous year. According to the Dept. of Agriculture,
Food and Marine (DAFM). The agri-food sector
accounted for around 9% of total employment in 2014. It
clearly makes a significant contribution to employment in
rural areas.
There are 139,860 farm holdings in the Republic with an
average size of 32.7 hectares. (Census of Agriculture 2010)
The total land area is 6.9 million hectares - 4.5 million ha
is used for agriculture and 730,000 ha for forestry. 81%
of our farmland is in pasture, hay and grass silage, 11%
is rough grazing and 8 % is in crop production. The area
of land planted under forestry in 2014 was 6,156 Ha. The
average price of land for sale in 2014 was estimated to be
€9,890/acre
The value of agri food and sector exports increased to
€11.3billion in 2014, accounting for 12.7% of all exports.
Even more significantly, the profile of trade has changed
dramatically in recent years. Shipments of food and drink
to international markets outside of our traditional British
and EU markets increased by 15% in 2014, to a value of
around €3 billion. The growth in exports was led by Asia,
which showed a rise of almost €270 million in value, to
reach €850 million for the first time. Within this, China
recorded a further jump of almost 40% to reach around
€520 million.
Exports to north America were 18% higher and the
Middle east and Africa showed increases of 11% and 9%
respectively. Strong export performances were recorded
in prepared foods (+ 8% to €1.8bn year on year) dairy
products and ingredients (+3% to €3.1bn), seafood (+9%
to €540m, poultry (+20% to €310m), pigmeat (+3% to
€570m) and edible horticulture (+4% to €230m)
Overall, the value of food and beverage exports has grown
by 45% since 2009. Beverage exports for 2014 increased
by 1% to €1.21billion in 2014. The craft Beer sector is
also expanding. There are currently 33 microbreweries in
Ireland and another 17 at development stage. Expansion
of the whiskey industry continued during 2014 with new
distilleries in Tullamore, Carlow and Dublin
Only 6.2% of farmers are under 35 years of age and 51.5%
are over 55 years. The average dairy farmer is around
50 years of age and over 80% are married. However the
tide has turned, the Agri-food sector is seen to have a
good future and many younger people have returned to
farming from the construction and other sectors.
INTRODUCTION

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The 2014 Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS)
recorded data on 895 farms.
Average Family Farm Income (FFI) increased by 6%
in 2014 to €26,974, mostly driven by declining input
expenditure which had been high due to the fodder crisis
in the previous two years.
While the value of farm output decreased in 2014,
farmers benefited from very good weather conditions
and production costs were down by 6%”.
There were approx.15,654 specialist dairy farms with an
average family farm income (FFI) of €68,877 in 2014, a
9% increase on 2013. Average herd size was 70 cows.
Although milk price declined slightly in 2014, dairy farms
produced 5% more milk in 2014 relative to 2013 and the
milk price was on average 3% lower. Dairy farms also
benefitted from lower expenditure due to lower volumes
of animal feedstuffs.
There were approx. 15,707 cattle rearing farms with an
average FFI of €10,271 in 2014. Suckler cow production
is the dominant enterprise on these farms. Average herd
size is 27 cows.
Income on cattle rearing farms increased by 8%
benefiting from reduced animal feed expenditure and
increasing prices for young animals.
There were approx. 25,674 cattle other farms, with an
average FFI of €13,834 in 2014.Cattle fattening is the
dominant enterprise on these farm
However, the average income on cattle other farms
declined by 12% to €13,834, as the decline in input
expenditure was insufficient to offset falling finished
animal prices.
There were approx. 2,760 mixed livestock farms with
an average FFI of €57,895 in 2014, a 14% increase
on 2013. While most mixed livestock farms have a
dairy enterprise, they are not specialised in dairy
production and typically also have a substantial cattle
enterprise
There were approx. 12,195 sheep farms with an average
FFI of €14,551 in 2014, a 24% increase on 2013. While this
seems like a substantial increase it follows a particularly
poor year for sheep farmers in 2013.
There were approx. 6,651 tillage farms with an average
FFI of €28,468 in 2014, a 1% decrease on 2013. The
average gross margin per hectare on tillage farms was
€1,098 in 2014. This included a Single Farm Payment of
€365.
The average farm subsidy payment in 2014 was
€18,859, and accounted for 70% of farm income. On
cattle and sheep farms subsidies comprised over 100%
of income.
Just over half of all farm households have off farm
income, with 29% of farmers working off-farm.
The number of farm households with off-farm
employment peaked in 2006 at 59% and declined to
49% in 2012. There has been a slight recovery in 2013
and 2014.
The prevalence of off-farm employment varies regionally.
In the West and Midlands regions 44 and 35% of farmers
respectively work off farm.
The €26,974 figure is the average income for approx.
80,000 farms which includes many part-time and small
farm holdings. Income varies considerably by farm size
and system with the average income on dairy farms
almost €69,000 in 2014
This compared to an average of just over €10,000 on
Cattle Rearing farms. Less than 20% of our farms earned
an income of €50,000 or more, while 40% earned less
than €10,000.
Strong lamb prices and production combined with
reduced input costs increased the average income on
sheep farms by 24% in 2014 to an average of €14,551.
However the 24% increase in 2014 is still not sufficient to
ensure a full recovery to the 2012 levels.
Good growing conditions led to increased cereal yields
in 2014, however falling prices meant that average tillage
farm incomes were similar at €28,468.
The average direct payment per farm was €18,859
comprising 70% of farm income in general and over 100%
on cattle and sheep farms.
Record Food Exports for 2014 and for YTD
By the end of 2014, some 389 companies had signed up
to origin Green, with 80 companies, representing 75% of
Irish exports
The total number of cattle slaughtered at Department of
Agriculture, Food & the Marine approved meat plants in
2014 amounted to over 1.6 million head, an increase of
around 150,000 or 10.3% on the 2013 figure. The number
of steers slaughtered in 2014 increased by approx.
85,000 to over 611,000 animals and the number of heifers
slaughtered increased by about 56,000 to exceed 430,000
animals.

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Young bull and cow slaughtering stayed at a relatively
similar position to 2013 with around 188,000 and 365,000
animals processed respectively. Bull slaughtering
increased by almost 9,000 compared to 2013, reaching
just over 43,000
Increased Beef & Cattle Exports
Beef exports excluding offal in 2014 were estimated
at 530,000 tonnes and were valued at €2.1 billion, an
increase of 12% on the 2013 figure. At 272,000 tonnes,
beef going to Britain represented 51% of total Irish beef
exports. Exports to continental Europe were at 243,000
tonnes. Shipments of Irish beef to non-eu markets
amounted to about 9,000 tonnes, up 12% on 2013.
Live exports saw a 13% increase at 236,000 head. Calf
exports were particularly strong to the Netherlands
and Belgium which accounted for over half of calves
exported. The calf trade to Spain was also noteworthy
with over 44,000 head exported there.
The finished/store trade to the Britain picked back up
from approx. 11,000 to over 18,000. The Libyan and
Moroccan markets continued, with non-eu shipments
amounting to 22,000 head for the year. With increased
capacity vessels now approved opportunities for the live
export trade have improved.
There were also a range of financial supports in place for
suckler beef farmers in 2014/5. The Beef Data programme
(BDP) is enhancing the genetic quality of the herd. This
scheme was supplemented in 2014 by a new Beef Genomics
scheme (BGS) which supports collecting genetic samples
for laboratory testing. Almost €9.6 million was paid to over
26,500 applicants in the BDP in 2014 and €20 million for
31,000 farmers in the BGS in 2014
For 2015 the beef sector continued to improve with steer
prices up by 9% year on year. Tighter supplies are also
helping the demand from the factories and the weakness of
the Euro is also a big help in British one of our main markets.
On average, calf and weanling prices in 2015 are well ahead
of last year which is good news for the suckler farmers.
2014 proved to be another steady year for the sheep
sector. The average factory price for the year (excluding
VAT) was €4.76 /kg which represents an increase of 3.47%
on the previous year. Margins for 2015 have continued
to improve as sheep prices are up 2.7% for year to date.
Supplies are tight and slaughtering’s are about 1% down
on the previous year.
According to Bord Bia supplies at sheep export meat
plants for the week ending October10th stood at over
58,000 head which was 20% down on the corresponding
week in 2014. Cumulative supplies for the year to date
are on a par with year previous levels at just over 2 million
head. Cumulative supplies of spring lamb are up 7% on
2014 while ewes and rams are back 14% for year to date.
The Food Harvest 2020 envisages a 20% increase in value
terms of the sector. In committing funding of €3m to the
programme in 2015 the Government is acknowledging
the success of the scheme in 2014 in which 4,000
producers participated.
Not On the Pigs Back
The Irish pig sector experienced another difficult year in
2014. High feed costs, albeit at a lower level than 2013,
together with ongoing challenges for other costs, combined
to keep margins under pressure. The total number of pigs in
Ireland in June 2015 was estimated at 1.5m, according to the
Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures.
This number of pigs represents a decrease of 1.2% since
June 2014, the CSO said. The number of breeding pigs
was down 1.6%, while non-breeding pig numbers were
down by 1.1% in the same period, the figures show.
A comparison of the June 2014 and June 2015 figures
shows that in the breeding category the number of sows
in pig increased by 3.2%.
Throughput at export-approved plants totaled just over
2.97 million, an increase of approximately 5% compared
to 2013. Prices dropped by an average of 4% during the
year offsetting this volume increase with the result that
output values grew by almost 3%.
Export volumes increased by almost 7%, and values
increased by 3% to an estimated €570 million. Trade to
our largest single market, Britain remained stable. There
was a continuation in the shift in exports to International
Markets notwithstanding the ban on exports to Russia,
leading to a 10% increase in trade to these markets.
Market access for pig meat was secured in the Philippines
and Vietnam. China, Japan and south Korea now account
for approx. two thirds of this growing trade. However
the domestic market remains the primary outlet for Irish
pig meat. More recent Bord Bia figures indicate that our
exports are up 14% for the January to June 2015.
According to the IFA the average quoted price for pigs at
€1.39/kg incl. VAT in Sept was 12% behind on a year
to year basis. In the meantime producer costs have
only declined by 5c/kg so farmers have being receiving

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negative margins in recent months. Since then matters
have got worse as pig meat processors have dropped
prices in October by 4c/kg.
The reasons for these poor prices include the Russian
ban on EU imports and increased pig meat production in
the EU (+5 %) On a more positive note a recent census
of EU pig numbers showed that the sow herd was down
by1% or 77,000 sows. Irish imports of pig meat have also
reduced by 11% from 52,500 tonnes to 46,700 tonnes for
the same period year on year. Pig meat consumption in
Ireland is also increasing.
Poultry Industry Surviving
The poultry sector continued to face considerable
challenges during 2014. These included increased feed
costs and significant pressure from imports. Export
values also grew and reached an estimated €310 million
in 2014.
At the end of 2014 there were 220 hen egg units registered
with this Department, a slight increase on the 2013
figure. These consisted of 153 Free Range Hen egg units
accounting for 35% of total hen places and 37 enriched
caged Hen units accounting for 62% of total hen places. The
remainder are organic egg and Barn egg units.
2014 saw the steady progression of the recent
development in the Irish egg industry, with increased
market access for hen eggs into third countries such as
the United Arab Emirates
In Ireland, consumption of poultry meat accounts for a
third of total meat consumption or almost 26kg per capita
per annum, Ireland represents one of the highest levels of
consumption across Europe.
Since last year, egg sales have increased by approx. 6% to
€98 million in 2014, while the value of chicken sales has
risen by 9% to €200 million in the same period.
Ireland exported 98,000 tonnes in product weight of
poultry meat to 39 markets in 2013. Chicken accounts
for 56% of the value of exports, with duck accounting for
26% and turkey accounting for the remainder. The British
market accounts for 70% of shipments while other key
markets include France and the Netherlands. For the first
six months of 2014, exports were 11% higher on 2013.
Tougher Times for Milk Producers
The average milk price paid to producers in 2014 was 37
cent per litre (Inc. VAT), compared to the 2013 average of
38 cent/litre. Milk production in Ireland in the 2014/2105
quota year was running over quota due to the high price
so a super levy of around €69m was incurred.
However the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the
Marine, introduced an instalment scheme for dairy
farmers, to facilitate staggered payments of the
2015 super levy bill over the next three years thereby
helping to ease cash flow problems on some dairy
farms.
Milk prices have fallen dramatically during the second
half of 2015 and for Sept they ranged from 28.9c/L at
Carbery which held its milk price while Dairygold has also
held its September milk price, at 25.50c/L.
At these prices high cost milk producers are losing
money and certainly in Northern Ireland where prices are
much lower.
Glanbia will pay its member suppliers 25c/L including
VAT for September milk – farmers with no shares will
receive 24c/L. This price is inclusive of a 1c/L Glanbia Co-
Operative Society support payment to its members.
Due to the strength of sterling it is estimated that farmers
in Britain and Northern Ireland are at a disadvantage
of 6p/litre on milk prices compared to those in the
Eurozone. Most farmers in the North operate a high input
system which is relatively expensive compared to the
grassland based spring calving system in the Republic. It
is costing from 25 to 30 pence per litre to produce milk
in Northern Ireland and prices are as low as 19 pence per
litre.
AIB Bank reckon that the average price in the ROI for this
season will be 28-29 cpl (cents per litre) which is 10 cents
lower than the previous year. They also estimate that the
European commodity prices for dairy products are only
delivering a base price of c.23 cpl so the Coops and PLC’s
have been supporting the farm gate price. According to
Teagasc average dairy farmer incomes are expected to
be down by 40% this year.
However the consensus is that maybe prices have
bottomed out and will increase in the summer of 2016
when world demand has improved. Cow slaughtering’s
are expected to accelerate in 2015 particularly in the
high cost milk producing areas such as Belgium and
Britain.
Milk deliveries in the EU for 2015 are expected to be
up by 1% and could still increase further in 2016. The
increase this year could be around 100,000 tonnes and
come mainly from Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Holland,
Poland and Spain.

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According to Rabobank there could be 2.5 billion litres
less milk traded over the next 12 months .This equates to
a 5% decline in the world surplus largely driven by a fall in
production in New Zealand and the USA.
Exports of Irish dairy products and ingredients were
valued at €3.025 billion in 2014. This represented a 5.7%
increase on 2013 as the Irish dairy sector had a strong
performance on thriving international markets.
The targeted 50% increase in the Harvest 2020 plan
involves an increase in milk production from 5bn litres in
2008/2009 to 7.5bn litres in 2020. Based on recent CSO
figures show that we produced 5,652 million litres of milk
in 2014 so we are over 25% of the way to achieving the
target even before quotas were abolished.
Agri Education Delivers the Goods
Quality education is critical to the sustainability of the
agricultural and food industry and we have a wonderful
range of agricultural and horticultural courses on offer at
six agricultural colleges, eight Institutes of Technology
and at UCD.
Close on 2,000 learners have enrolled in agricultural
college further education programmes and Teagasc
linked higher education programmes for the 2014/15
academic year.
Teagasc has received almost 1,500 applications for its
Green Cert courses. This is about three times the normal
level of applications.
On an annual basis over 3,500 learners participate in
Teagasc further education programmes. In addition
Teagasc provides customised short courses to 5000 or so
adult farmers and agri-industry personnel annually.
Some 600 recent entrants to dairying participated in a
Teagasc programme in 2014. The Dept. of Agriculture
also supported a new Teagasc/Farm Relief services
run Milking skills, course which had 350 participants in
2014.
Good Crops of Cereals but Disappointing Prices
The 2014 cereals harvest was estimated at 2.56 million
tonnes, 7% or 218,000/t higher than the 2013 harvest and
well above the average two million tonnes, this despite
the national cereal area falling by 1%. This is the highest
cereal production figure since 1985 and a reflection of the
recent trend of the increasing proportion of winter cereals
being grown.
The overall area sown to cereals in 2014 was in the
region of 302,000 hectares similar to the previous year
however the trend has been to a more winter crops.
Total production of wheat was 706,000 tonnes, up 32%
on 2013 with yields for winter wheat significantly higher;
barley production was 1,711 million tonnes up 5%, while
production of oats decreased by 22% to 146,000 tonnes.
National cereal yields were well above the five-year trend
figures for the second year in a row. Winter barley yields
retreated 2% on last year’s record highs to 9.3 t/h. Winter
wheat yields increased to 10.2 t/ha with yields unchanged
at 8.0 t/ha for spring wheat. Winter and spring oat
yields both increased on 2013 to 8.6 t/ha and 7.3 t/ha
respectively, the figure for winter oats being the highest
ever recorded.
A favourable grain fill period and fine weather during
the harvest all contributed to high yields and ensured
that grain quality was excellent. Preliminary estimates for
the CSO census in June 2015 show that the area under
cereals decreased by 15,700 hectares (-5.1%) to 291,000
ha. This was due to a decrease of 23,200 ha (-14.9%) in
spring barley and a decrease of 10,200 ha (-15.6%) in
winter wheat.
Good Times for Horticulture
Favourable overall weather conditions meant 2014 was
a reasonably good year for most sectors within the
horticultural industry. In 2014 the output value for the
horticulture sector, excluding potatoes, was estimated at
€336m.
The value of output from the mushroom sector increased
significantly in 2014 continuing the trend for recent
years. The increase in value was largely attributable to
an increased demand from our main export market in
Britain.
During 2014 grant aid of €3.98M facilitated capital
investment by growers of approx. €10m in specialist
buildings and equipment.
Product 2013 2014 % change
Mushrooms € 121.5 m €133.2 m +9.6
Field Vegetables €59.7 m € 61.1 m +2.2
Protected crops €82.0 m € 85.3 m +4.1
Outdoor Fruit Crops €7.7 m € 9.8 m +26.9
Bulbs, Flowers & Foliage €4.5m € 5.9 m +30.3
Nursery Crops etc. €38.2 m € 40.8 m +6.9
Total € 313.6 m € 336.1m +7.2

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Horse & Greyhound Industry
It is estimated (in a study undertaken by Alan Dukes for the
ITBA in October 2013) that the Irish bloodstock industry
provides 14,000 jobs and generates €1.1bn in economic
output. Bord na gCon estimates that the greyhound industry
sustains in excess of 10,000 full and part-time jobs directly
and indirectly, many in rural communities, and injects an
estimated €500m into local economies.
Agri Environment
REPS participants are located in counties along the
western seaboard, with 19% located in counties Galway
and Mayo. There were just under 17,000 farmers
participating and due a payment in REPS4 up to the end
of 2014. In 2014, €139.5m was paid under the scheme
with the average payment amounting to €5,700. REPS
also help to preserve the built heritage in rural Ireland in
the traditional Farm Buildings Scheme by ensuring that a
number of buildings of historical and architectural value
are maintained into the future.
After a big increase in fertiliser and limestone use
(tonnes) in 2013 compared to previous years, there was
a significant decrease in sales in 2014, although NPK
use was still 5% above the ten year average. The main
decrease was in nitrogen sales (6.2%), with a lower
decrease in phosphorous application (3.9%) and a slight
increase in potassium sales (1%).
Year Nitrogen Phosphate Potash
2013 353,044 36,986 92,790
2014 331,782 35,584 93,812
10 year mean 329,208 31,296 81,599
Growing Prospects for Forestry
Forests cover 10.5% of the land area of the country. This is
one of the lowest levels in Europe, as the eu-27 average
is about 33%. Forest cover here has increased by nearly
300,000 hectares since 1990. Government schemes have
led to the establishment of some 26,000 private forest
plantations since 1980, the majority of which are owned
by farmers.
Forestry activity enhances the rural environment
and provides employment in areas where there are
alternatives while visits to forests generate an estimated
€268 million annually in local communities. Forestry
has an important role in relation to climate change,
construction, bio-energy, bio-diversity and its potential
to deliver long-term employment in other downstream
industries.
It is estimated that the total potential demand for energy
wood will be c. 1.7 million cubic metres by 2020. Actual
demand will depend largely on the level of co-firing
of wood biomass for electricity generation, installed
biomass-based heating and CHP capacity and the impact
of any new measures aimed at stimulating the increased
use of energy wood.
A growing international trade in wood fuels is also likely
to impact on demand for locally produced fuels. On
the supply side, a COFORD report estimates that up to
1.5 million cubic metres of forest-based biomass could
potentially be available for the renewable energy sector
by 2020, increasing to 1.8 million cubic metres by 2027.
The bulk of this material is likely to come from privately-
owned farm forests.
While showing a steady growth over the past number
of years, there was a sharp decline in the area under
organic production in 2014 as a number of participants
completed their Organic Farming Scheme. The land
area under organic production methods by 1,587 farmers
equated to just less than 1.2 % of agricultural land. The
Irish organic retail market was estimated to be worth
approx. €100 million in 2014.
Fish Industry Doing Well
The Irish seafood industry includes the sea fishing, the
aquaculture and the seafood processing industry.
The sector generated sales of €850 million in 2014 and
provided approx. 11,000 jobs in coastal regions. Almost
60% of the employment and added value created in the
marine sector is located outside the most developed
regions making this sector hugely important to
maintaining rural coastal communities.
Irish seafood exports were valued at €520 million in 2014.
This represents a 6% increase on 2013. In volume terms,
exports at 260,784 tonnes are showing a 2% increase on
the previous year. Trends in the main seafood categories
in 2014 were as follows: Salmon at €46 million is showing
an 11% increase on 2013.
A corresponding 21% increase in volume suggests the
beginning of a recovery in the supply of salmon expected
throughout 2015. The unit price of fresh whole Irish
salmon at €6.6 per Kg is well above the average EU
market price in 2014 and reflects the market position of
organic salmon. Pelagic trade was valued at €219 million
and amounted to 184,157 tonnes in 2014.
This represents a 20% increase in value from €183 million
with a corresponding 7% increase in volume on 2013.

9
Trade in mackerel doubled to €111 million while tuna
exports increased to €22 million. There was a decline in
trade in the other main pelagic species namely herring
€17 million (-26%), horse mackerel €41 million (-21%) and
blue whiting €16 million (-26%).
Whitefish exports were valued at €50 million in 2014 a
decline of 4% on 2013 due largely to restricted fishing
caused by stormy weather early in 2014. Shellfish exports
valued at €172 million were down 2% on 2013. Exports
of Dublin Bay Prawns increased by 30% to €42 million,
exports of mussels declined by 37% to €13 million due to
low harvest volumes and bay closures in the rope mussel
industry while crab exports, at €34 million, were on a par
with 2013.
The market for Irish oysters was positive in 2014 with
exports at €25 million. Exports of whelk grew to €16
million. Exports of fish meal and oil were down 36% to
€20 million in 2014. Sales on the domestic market in 2014
were valued at €330 million.
Food Harvest 2020 identifies the potential of the
seafood industry to increase employment from the
present level of 11,000 to 14,000 jobs by 2020, mostly
in peripheral coastal communities. It also identifies the
potential to increase turnover in the sector to €1 billion
by 2020.
Importance Of EU Schemes To Farm Incomes
Annual expenditure of almost €1.6 billion, on the single
payment, Disadvantaged Areas and Rural environment
protection and Agri-environment options schemes, was
made by this Dept. of Agriculture. Over €1,166 billion
was paid to over 121,000 farmers under the 2014 single
payment scheme.
The Department’s change management programme has
been the key enabler in reducing its running costs by
€91 million since 2008, a reduction of 30%; staffing levels
have fallen by c. 1,600 or 33% since 2005; and, their local
office network has been reduced from 58 offices in 2009
to 16 currently. combined with the increased use of digital
services and processes, changes in the Department’s
various schemes and reductions in disease levels has led
to improved business processes and greater operational
efficiency.
The Department’s online services continue to expand;
over 80,000 (or 61%) single payment scheme applications
were submitted online in 2013, representing a cumulative
ten-fold increase since the facility was made available. So
the increased use of IT has been very beneficial to both
farmers & Dept. personnel.
The Department launched a very successful Farm safety
scheme in 2014 with a budget of €12.2 million, with
over 6,300 applications received. This scheme provides
financial support in a very practical way to farmers
addressing safety issues on their farms. Supports include
the provision of safety fencing around slurry stores, the
construction of external agitation points, replacement of
damaged slats, and improving electrical installation and
lighting on farms.
A text message service to keep farmers informed on
important issues and deadlines was introduced in 2012
to improve customer service. It includes notifications
regarding scheme reminders such as SPS closing dates,
payment updates, farm safety, animal health, as well as
alerts of new information on the Departments’ website.
At the end of 2014 more than 100,000 farmers registered
their mobile numbers for communications with the
Department.

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Record Livestock Numbers
Preliminary estimates for June 2015 show that the total
number of sheep was 5,164,000, an increase of 1.3% on
June 2014.The number of non-breeding sheep was up
3.9%, while breeding sheep numbers were down by 1.1%
in the same period.
The June 2015 results also show that:
• Cattle numbers were up by 37,400 (+0.5%) to
6,963,500.
• The total number of cattle under 1 year increased
by 163,900 (+8.7%), while cattle 2 years and
over decreased by 76,200 (-8.6%).
• The number of dairy cows was up by 69,400 (+5.7%),
while beef cows dropped by 53,200 (-4.7%)
Based on a discussion group model in which farmers
engage in peer-to-peer learning, the Beef Technology
Adoption Programme (BTAP) has approx. 6,500
participants in 414 groups.
During 2015 grass growth and weather conditions
have been good so most livestock have had access
to adequate grazing and have been able to conserve
adequate quantities of silage.
The Bord Bia Beef and Lamb Quality Assurance Scheme
(BLQAS) significantly expanded its membership during
2014/15. The numbers who are part of Bord Bia’s beef,
lamb and dairy quality assurance schemes have risen as
follows.
• Certified beef producers: 44,351.
• Certified lamb producers: 12,023.
• Certified dairy producers: 7,252.
Excellent Prospects for Malting Barley
Up to 500 farmers supply Boortmalt, who in turn have
massive contracts with companies like Diageo and Irish
Distillers, who in turn produce global brands such as
Guinness and Jameson whiskey.
The whiskey boom has sparked a €400m investment
rush into whiskey distilleries around the country.
The big four are Jameson, Bushmills, Powers and
Tullamore Dew, but it’s likely that there will be up to 15
other whiskey distilleries operational here within the
next three years.
While an estimated 60,000 tonnes of Irish barley are
used in whiskey-making, the Scots use 620,000 tonnes.
It is predicted that the domestic barley demand will be
double its current level by 2020.
In 2014, Boortmalt contracted about 50,000 acres for
malting barley production. The intention now is to
increase this to 65,000-68,000 acres to produce more
than 143,000t of barley for malting. Over 300 tonnes
of barley is used daily to make Guinness. In total, the
drinks industry spends €400 million on raw materials from
farms across Ireland every year, supporting 5,000 farming
families.
2014 was a hugely significant year for Guinness production,
as they opened Brewhouse No. 4 that will use approx.13%
of Ireland’s total annual domestic production of barley.
Brewhouse No. 4 produces 300,000 pints per brew every
two hours, allowing for a substantial boost in exports.
Farms represented in the NFS were as follows:
Specialist Dairy Farms 15,654
Cattle Rearing Farms 15.707
Cattle Other Farms 25,674
Mainly Sheep Farms 12,195
Tillage Farms 6,651
Food Exports Summary
Sector 2013 - €M 2014 (e) - €M % change
Beef 2,248 2,270 +1
Sheep meat 216 218 +1
Live animals 245 244 0
Pigmeat 552 570 +20
Poultry 259 310 +4
Dairy products & Ingredients 2,968 3,055 +3
Prepared Foods 1,669 1,805 +8
Beverages 1,197 1,205 +1
Seafood 496 540 +4
Horticulture & Cereals 222 230 -1
Total Food & Drinks 10,072 10,448 +4%
Feed Compound Trade to Increase Volumes
With the abolition of milk quotas and increased livestock
numbers the feed trade can look forward to selling
more animal feed to farms on the island of Ireland.
Currently there are at least 40 major suppliers on the
market and it has become an increasingly competitive
business particularly along the border counties. The feed
compound trade is of course the major market for home

11
grown cereals and it is interesting that the pig and poultry
sector account for over 25% of the sales.(see table)
12 Months ended 31 December 2014 ( Jan - Dec Cum)
Species 2013 2014 Difference %
CATTLE
Compound 1,755,370 1,519,207 236,163 -13.5
Coarse 990,974 808,481 182,493 -18.4
CattleTotal 2,746,344 2,327,688 418,656 -15.2
Pigs 690,767 696,206 5,439 0.8
Poultry 493,481 520,974 27,493 5.6
SHEEP
Compound 132,590 105,038 27,552 -20.8
Coarse 58,139 51,319 6,820 -11.7
Sheep Total 190,729 156,357 34,372 -18.0
Subtotal 4,121,321 3,701,225 420,096 -10.2
Horse 91,351 89,532 1,819 -2.0
Oils & Molasses 201,316 163,293 38,023 -18.9
Other 211,665 174,610 37,055 -17.5
Grand Total 4,625,653 4,128,660 496,993 -10.7
Farm Machinery Update 2015
Tractor sales this year are well back on the previous
year. Sept ytd sales of new tractors are down by 8.3%
and used tractors are down by a whopping 15.7%
so reduced milk prices are taking their toll on farm
machinery purchases.
There were 1,512 new tractors registered in the
Republic of Ireland to the end of July this year, with
Co Cork dominating the market with 202 new tractors,
followed closely by Tipperary and Wexford as the top
three counties for new tractor registrations so far this
year.
However what is more significant is that the average
horsepower keeps on rising. The main customers are
tillage farmers & agri contractors.
However large dairy farmers when they have had a
good financial year due to high milk prices can write
off tax against new machinery so their purchases could
be significant when milk prices are good as in 2014.
New tractor purchases from the tillage sector are likely
to be depressed as a result of what many are labelling
as an income crisis that has developed over the last
three years in the sector as a result of low grain prices
and escalating inputs costs, particularly for fertiliser.
The weakening of the euro against Sterling is helping
to boost Irish farm machinery sales to agri contractors
this year. Sales of grassland equipment in Ireland,
particularly forage harvesters, is up on 2014 levels.
The numbers of used tractors imported into the
country has slumped this year, according to latest
statistics from the Central Statistics Office.
Since January, the number of tractors imported for the
first nine months of the year is down 34%.
Comparing the September figures to those of 2013
shows a staggering fall off imports of tractors, down
over 70% from a high of over 4,000 to just over 1,200.
The massive fall in imports is as a result in the
weakness of the euro against Sterling this year. The
euro has fallen over 10% between September 2014 to
September 2015.
On a more positive note total Irish forage harvester
sales this year may well come in at around 70 units, up
from 50 in 2014. This market is now contractor driven.
Last year, Irish milk producers enjoyed a sustained
period of strong prices, with the result that contractors
were paid with little delay. On the back of these good
cash flows, contractors have had the confidence to
invest in new farm machinery during 2015.
Last year saw 69 used combines imported into the
market, while the figures for the first six months show
that just 18 have been registered. The annual market
is estimated to be 35 pa and the market leaders in
order of importance are Claas, New Holland & John
Deere.
The top three tractor brands are John Deere followed
by New Holland and Massey Ferguson who are
neck on neck. A Significant number of tractors are
now hired out to Agri contractors and farmers by
major dealers such as Shaw and Templetouhy Farm
Machinery. One reason for farmer hire is that they
cannot afford to buy high HP tractors and may only
require them in the winter time to operate mixer
wagons or for short periods at other times during the
season e.g. for silage making etc.
The breakdown by HP for 2015 was as follows:
Horsepower No. of Tractors Sold
Under 120 385
101 to 120 834
121 to 150 376
151 to 200 295
201 to 250 50
251 + 10
Total 1950

Compiled by De Paor Consultancy on behalf of Irish Farmers Monthly

Agri Review 2015

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Agri Review 2015