NEW Stormont figures show that total income from farming (TIFF) in Northern Ireland soared by more than a third last year.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) revealed that the figure rose by 34 per cent (or 26 per cent in real terms) to £456 million last year from £342 million in 2019.
And the fact that the agri-food sector's output for the year rose to £2.23 billion underlines how vital farming is to the north's economy in general, but in particular as it helped feed the region during the Covid lockdown.
Indeed people's penchant for home baking let to soaring demand for products like eggs.
Dairying remains the largest contributor to the total value of gross output in Northern Ireland at £667m (up 2 per cent on 2019), though the annual average farm-gate milk price decreased by 0.7 per cent to 27.01p per litre while the volume of raw milk produced in Northern Ireland increased by 2 per cent to 2.4 billion litres.
But the overall numbers need to be put in context, and don't necessarily mean a renaissance for the agricultural sector in an era when cheap food has become the norm, according to Cormac McKervey, senior agricultural manager at Ulster Bank.
He said the increased TIFF figure, while welcome, isn’t a profit, but rather the income earned by farmers as a result of their labour and the capital they have invested in their business.
“TIFF is a measure of farm income at sector level, and while it has increased by 26 per cent in real terms versus 2019, it’s important to recognise that it doesn’t mean farm profits have improved," he said.
“Indeed, margins at farm level for 2020 were at best, average. So, while these figures show average farm business income is up, this didn’t translate into farm profit given the hike in input costs throughout the year, particularly in feed, fertiliser and fuel costs.
“And the TIFF figure of £456m includes a farm payment of around £300m issued by the UK treasury."
The value of Northern Ireland farm output, at £2.23bn, is driven mostly by milk and beef sales, which account for nearly half of that total at £1.1bn.
Pig prices were strong throughout 2020, with the value of pork jumping 20 per cent to £217m, while the Covid lockdown saw demand for locally-produced eggs increase by 11 per cent to £128m.
Higher prices for lamb helped boost output by 27 per cent to £84m, but poultry farmers saw a 5 per cent cut to their price despite strong demand for poultry meat throughout lockdown. Poultry meat output fell 3 per cent to £300m.
“Arable output also fell too through a combination of lower prices and lower yields," Mr McKervey added.
“With improved farm prices particularly in milk and beef so far in 2021, it’s likely this year will show an improvement in both TIFF and farm profit," he said.
