The average income on Irish sheep farms increased by 115% last year, the latest Teagasc National Farm Survey shows.

The survey found that the average farm income on sheep enterprises was €27,796.

The gross output on the average sheep farm also increased by 20% to €74,877 in 2024. Teagasc said reflected a combination of higher lamb prices and a lower volume of output.

Meanwhile, total costs declined by 5% in 2024. Direct costs were down by 2% to €24,840, while overhead costs went down 8% to €22,241.

The average sheep farm size was 47ha, down 2% from 2023 while the number of ewes on the average farm was down 6% to 138 ewes.

The increase in income observed in 2024 was also associated with the timing of the receipt of some farm payments.

Partly because of this timing issue, direct payments increased by 32% year-on-year to €28,610, on average.

In total, 14% of sheep farmers are in the Organic Farming Scheme with an average annual payment of €17,375 (however payments for this scheme are front-loaded in the first two years); 67% are in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) with an average payment of €7,438; and 31% also had sucklers and received an average of €2,964 from the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).