The West (Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon) is the smallest agricultural producing region in Ireland as measured by the value of its output, generating 10% (€1.4bn) of the State’s Agricultural Output at Basic Prices. It was the largest recipient of total net subsidies in 2025 (i.e. Subsidies less Taxes on both Products and Production), with 21% of State payments made to the region. Cattle are the most important agricultural outputs for the region. While it is the largest Sheep producing region in the country, Sheep still only accounted for 8% of the region’s agricultural output. It also has the lowest dependency on Milk, producing just 5% of all Irish Milk.
The value of the region’s Agricultural Output at Basic Prices rose by 18% (+€213m) to €1.4bn, the highest growth rate of all regions. The main drivers of this growth were Cattle, (+36%, +€171m) and Milk (+21%, +€37m), with the region having the highest rate of increase in Milk values. Crops generated 21% of the region’s output and their value fell by 1% (-€5m) to €305m.
The West had the lowest rate of increase in Intermediate Consumption costs, which were up 3% (+€23m) to €899m. The cost of Maintenance & Repairs increased by 23% (+€17m) to €93m while expenditure on Fertilisers was up by €12m to €68m and expenditure on Feeding Stuffs rose by 4% to €189m. There was no significant change in the value of payments received for Other Subsidies less Taxes on Production, which remained at €399m. The net impact of all these and other changes on the region’s agricultural income was an increase of 34% (+€159m) in its Operating Surplus, while its Entrepreneurial Income grew by 47% (+€181m) to €564m in 2025 (See Table 1.1 and PxStat Table ACA03).
| X-axis label | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Cattle | 45.1920085046283 |
| Sheep | 7.72071365994503 |
| Pigs | 1.18764858021962 |
| Milk | 14.748303288074 |
| Forage plants | 17.1732329985578 |
| All other crops | 4.21880621605093 |
| Other | 9.75928675252446 |
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