This is a gain of 25% compared to the previous year and a lead of €1,746 over the preliminary survey that will be released in June 2022.
According to Teagasc, the increase in FFI was caused by a number of factors, including generally reasonable growing conditions, increased milk production, and a sharp rise in milk price (to 40c/L by actual fat and protein). Specifically, the increase in FFI was driven by the combination of all three of these factors.
Earnings from the family farm
Despite the fact that farm profits hit all-time highs, this positive trend was hampered by rising input costs, which were caused by rises in the prices of feed, fertilizer, and gasoline in particular.
Notably, the total amount of money spent on bought concentrate in 2021 on a dairy farm with an average herd size of 92 cows was €45,790. This represents a 15% increase in comparison to the amount spent in 2020.
In addition to this, it was observed that the price of bulky or silage feed that was bought rose by an average of 4% in 2021.
The cost of fertilizer went increased dramatically in 2021, rising by an average of 8% over the previous year.
The results of the poll, on the other hand, indicate that farmers had relatively high amounts of fertilizer in store at the end of the year 2020, which they subsequently put to use in 2021.
The expenses associated with machinery hiring (contracting) climbed by 2% on average to a total of 13,204 euros, while the expenditures associated with other livestock and veterinary care also increased by 9% to a total of 14,163 euros for the typical dairy farm.
Production of milk
The rise in gross output in 2021 was on average 17% higher than in 2020, while the increase in the cost of production was on average 12% higher.
In 2021, milk output reached 12,155 L/ha, which was a 3% rise over the previous year’s total.
The high milk prices in 2021 contributed greatly to the large rise in gross production per hectare, which reached an average of €4,978.
Despite an 8% rise in direct costs in 2021, the average gross margin per hectare rose to €3,181 in that year.
Regional
When we consider dairy farms on a regional scale, we find that the bulk of them, 72 percent, are situated in the south.
The remaining sixteen percent are equally dispersed among the other two areas, with fourteen percent living in the north and west and fourteen percent in the east and midlands respectively.
However, the dairy farms that can be found in the east and the midlands are far greater in size than those that can be found in the south.
However, it is noteworthy to note that the southern area had the greatest dairy revenues, with an average income of €1,611 per hectare.
The average prices per hectare for the east and the midlands, as well as the north and the west, were respectively €1,410 and €1,394 correspondingly.
When compared to farms in the north and west, those in the east and the middle of the country had much higher direct expenses per hectare.
The direct expenses were on average just 1,135 euros per hectare in the south, making it the region with the lowest direct costs per cow.
In 2021, the amount of concentrate feed used per cow in the north and west was 1,444 kilograms, while the amount used in the east and midlands was 1,240 kilograms, and the amount used in the south was 1,072 kilograms.
The southern area had the highest average revenues per cow, coming in at a total of €1,611 on average for each cow. This is about €217/cow more than the price in the north and west area, which is over €201/cow higher than the price in the east and midlands region.
