Farm income surged by more than 40% in a year to over £1 billion, with higher prices for milk, beef and pigs driving the increase, new figures reveal.
Farmers also benefited by paying lower prices for feedstuffs in 2025, according to provisional figures released by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
Total income from farming increased by 40.5% from £736m in 2024 to £1.03bn last year, with direct government payments accounting for just over £300m, effectively unchanged from the previous year.
It is the second year in a row that large income increases have been reported after a slump in 2023, when the total amount fell below £500m.
Total income is the return on a farm’s “labour, management input and capital invested”.
Farmers’ representatives said the “figures are a snapshot in time and should not be interpreted as evidence that the underlying pressures facing farm businesses have disappeared”.
Average incomes reported by individual farms increased by close to 20% from £56,390 in the year to the end of February to £66,840 over the same period the following year. These incomes do not include poultry or horticulture operations.
Cows grazing during the warm weather in Millisle, County Down. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
However, there is a marked difference across sectors, with the average income for a pig farmer at £167,313 compared to just under £36,787 for a cattle or sheep farmer in a “less favoured area”. The average for dairy farms was just over £120,000.
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir, welcoming the increase in farm incomes, said the rise was “due to strong market demand for Northern Ireland produce both in terms of price and volume”.
“The agriculture sector as a whole performed strongly in 2025 with high prices for most commodities particularly milk, beef and pigs,” Mr Muir said.
“While these results are positive, I recognise that market prices have fallen considerably in 2026 while input costs have risen with an uncertain outlook for the period ahead.”
Conflict around the Straight of Hormuz in the Gulf has increased already high fertiliser prices.
Conflict around Strait of Hormuz expected to impact fertiliser prices in 2026
The Ulster Farmers’ Union described the figures as a “welcome indication of what can be achieved when farmers receive a fair return from the market for the food they produce”.
Stronger prices, particularly beef, have delivered a much-needed improvement following years of challenging returns, the group said.
But a spokesperson added: “The agricultural market can change extremely quickly.
“We are already seeing that in the beef sector, where prices have fallen significantly from the previous highs.
“Farmers who bought cattle at very strong prices only weeks or months ago are now facing a very different market as they carry the cost of feeding and finishing those animals.”
The UFU said farmers “remain exposed to volatile markets, weather pressures, increasing regulation and uncertainty around future agricultural support”.
“The figures demonstrate the difference that a fair market return can make to farm businesses, but they should not create complacency,” the spokesperson added.
“If government expects farmers to invest in their businesses, support the next generation and deliver increasingly ambitious environmental and climate objectives, those businesses must first be economically sustainable”.
The minister described market developments as “outside the control” of his department but that “volatile markets” highlight the need “to improve the resilience of farm businesses and help withstand shocks” and “encourage businesses to become more environmentally sustainable and efficient”.
Total agriculture output in the north was 12% higher at £3.6bn, with dairy farming the single largest contributor at £1.2bn. The total input, or spend, was £2.18bn.
The estimated value of the 2025 direct payments schemes was £303 million, a 1% decrease compared to 2024.
Feedstuffs costs, which accounted for 55% of the total gross spend by farmers, decreased by 0.1% to £1.19 billion in 2025.
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir
This included a 6% increase in the volume of feedstuffs purchased and a 6% decrease in the average price paid per tonne.
However, the total cost of fertilisers in 2025 increased by 33%, including a 10% increase in the average price paid per tonne.