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Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2018

Northern Ireland Agriculture

Number of farms in Northern Ireland, June 2007 - 2017

Table NI22.1 Number of farms in Northern Ireland, June 2007 - 2017
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Total Northern Ireland	26,146	25,952	25,264	24,471	24,436	24,285	24,503	24,228	24,907	24,528	24,956
Source: Agricultural Census, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland

Open in Excel: Table NI22.1 Number of farms in Northern Ireland, June 2007 - 2017 (XLS 11KB)

Crop areas in Northern Ireland, 2007-2017

Table NI23.1 Crop areas in Northern Ireland, 2007-2017
000 hectares
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Grass
Under 5 yrs old	122.1	117.2	120.8	118.4	129.7	133.9	139.2	146.2	149.9	148.2	144.4
Over 5 yrs old	671.9	672.4	669.9	661.6	647.4	646.0	648.8	641.8	650.4	652.6	660.6

Total grass	794.0	789.6	790.7	780.0	777.1	779.8	788.0	788.0	800.3	800.8	805.0

Hill or rough land	146.5	147.1	141.9	140.5	140.9	138.8	140.1	140.1	131.1	137.2	140.4

Cereals
Oats	2.0	2.4	2.1	2.3	2.1	1.9	2.0	2.1	2.1	2.3	2.3
Wheat	9.2	12.1	10.1	10.9	11.6	9.4	8.0	8.5	8.0	8.6	8.7
Barley (winter)	4.7	6.1	5.1	6.8	6.8	5.3	5.3	6.7	7.0	7.6	7.1
Barley (spring)	18.1	19.5	21.6	17.6	17.2	20.2	20.5	16.8	15.7	14.7	14.0
Mixed corn	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2

Total cereals	34.2	40.4	39.2	37.8	37.9	37.1	35.9	34.2	32.9	33.4	32.3

Other field crops
Potatoes	4.8	5.1	5.1	4.9	4.8	4.2	4.3	4.2	3.6	3.7	4.1
Arable crop silage	3.3	3.2	3.5	3.9	3.3	3.7	4.1	4.0	3.3	3.3	3.6
Forage maize	3.1	3.5	3.3	2.9	2.5	1.9	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.3	1.3
SRC Willow	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6
Other crops¹	2.5	2.7	3.1	2.7	2.4	2.7	2.1	2.2	2.4	2.1	2.3

Total other field crops	14.0	15.0	15.5	14.9	13.5	13.0	12.6	12.5	11.3	11.0	12.0

Horticultural crops
Fruit	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Vegetables	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.4	1.2	1.3
Ornamentals	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2

Total horticultural crops	2.9	3.0	3.0	2.9	3.0	2.9	3.0	3.0	3.1	2.9	3.0

Total crops	51.2	58.3	57.7	55.6	54.4	53.0	51.6	49.8	47.3	47.4	47.2

Total crops & grass	845.2	848.0	848.4	835.5	831.5	832.8	839.6	837.8	847.7	848.2	852.2

Other land
Set-aside	2.0	1.2	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Woods and plantations	9.9	9.9	10.3	10.2	10.8	11.0	10.3	11.1	11.1	16.1	15.8
Other land²	10.9	11.3	6.9	7.8	8.2	8.3	8.0	7.8	7.9	11.8	11.4
Total other land	22.8	22.3	17.6	18.0	19.0	19.3	18.3	18.9	18.9	27.9	27.2

Total area farmed	1,014.5	1,017.4	1,008.0	994.0	991.4	991.0	998.0	996.8	997.7	1,013.2	1,019.7
¹Other Crops - Oilseed rape, Turnip/beet, Kale/Cabbage, other stockfeed crops, Triticale, Linseed, Flax.
²Other land - fallow land, roads, buildings, bogs, wasteland, gardens etc.
Source: Agricultural Census, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland

Open in Excel: Table NI23.1 Crop areas in Northern Ireland, 2007-2017 (XLS 16KB)

Livestock numbers, June 2007 - 2017

Table NI23.2 Livestock numbers, June 2007 - 2017
thousand head
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Cattle¹
Dairy cows	286.1	289.2	284.7	281.0	282.5	285.4	279.5	294.2	311.5	317.1	315.8
Dairy heifers in calf	67.8	64.3	62.5	61.9	62.3	65.4	67.1	62.1	60.8	58.8	60.1

Beef cows	272.6	265.7	256.8	257.6	269.5	279.2	270.1	254.9	260.3	269.7	267.1
Beef heifers in calf	36.7	39.7	37.6	38.4	42.1	40.9	37.4	31.9	31.7	31.1	30.4

Total cows	558.7	554.9	541.5	538.7	552.0	564.6	549.6	549.1	571.8	586.9	582.9

Total heifers in calf	104.5	104.0	100.1	100.3	104.4	106.3	104.5	93.9	92.5	90.0	90.5

Bulls for service	17.6	19.6	18.6	18.4	18.7	19.0	18.8	18.1	17.7	17.4	17.2

Other cattle
Over 2 years	160.8	151.5	132.0	133.6	123.7	117.2	113.3	132.6	121.1	101.7	106.2
1-2 years	362.7	333.5	348.6	354.2	338.7	334.5	345.2	331.8	328.3	358.1	378.7
Under 1 year	439.2	459.0	458.4	459.1	452.9	483.9	456.3	441.8	477.4	510.5	491.0

Total cattle	1,643.5	1,622.5	1,599.0	1,604.4	1,590.5	1,625.4	1,587.8	1,567.3	1,608.9	1,664.6	1,666.4

Sheep
Breeding ewes	957.3	935.4	892.4	875.9	895.2	937.5	921.4	910.6	938.6	955.2	973.3
Other sheep	1,066.7	1,038.2	1,004.3	971.8	992.4	1,031.4	982.1	1,012.3	1,051.0	1,067.8	1,079.2

Total sheep	2,024.0	1,973.6	1,896.7	1,847.7	1,887.6	1,968.9	1,903.5	1,922.9	1,989.7	2,023.0	2,052.6

Pigs²
Sows and gilts	37.0	35.5	38.2	38.5	38.0	38.3	42.5	42.8	45.6	46.4	47.9
Other pigs	373.5	366.9	395.4	386.1	387.2	388.6	437.8	474.2	524.1	554.7	601.2

Total pigs	410.5	402.4	433.5	424.6	425.3	426.9	480.3	517.1	569.7	601.1	649.1

Poultry³
Laying birds	2,394.0	2,398.5	2,315.7	2,099.4	2,429.7	2,556.7	2,438.4	3,044.6	3,174.1	3,550.0	3,962.8
Growing pullets	1,039.8	1,174.3	999.1	1,017.3	1,109.2	1,089.2	909.3	916.3	908.0	961.9	1,202.0
Breeding flock	1,538.0	1,205.2	1,573.2	1,078.2	1,528.0	1,641.1	2,150.6	2,413.7	2,404.9	2,282.7	2,526.9
Table chickens	11,861.3	11,543.5	11,418.3	11,915.1	14,069.4	13,459.4	13,412.0	13,614.2	14,273.1	14,459.2	16,766.6

Total ordinary fowl	16,833.0	16,321.4	16,306.3	16,109.9	19,136.3	18,746.4	18,910.4	19,988.8	20,760.1	21,253.8	24,458.3

Other poultry	451.9	809.4	556.4	421.2	486.2	441.7	463.5	412.4	485.6	530.0	452.3

Total poultry	17,284.9	17,130.9	16,862.7	16,531.1	19,622.5	19,188.2	19,373.8	20,401.1	21,245.7	21,783.8	24,910.6

Horses & ponies⁴	10.8	11.8	12.2	12.5	12.0	12.0	11.7	11.1	11.0	10.3	9.6

Goats	2.5	2.8	2.7	2.9	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.8	3.8	4.2
¹From 2005 onwards, cattle figures sourced from APHIS
²From 2013 onwards, pig figures sourced from the Northern Ireland Annual Inventory of Pigs
³From 2007 onwards, poultry figures sourced from the Northern Ireland Bird Register Update
⁴Horses and ponies on agricultural holdings.
Source: Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture 2016, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland

Open in Excel: Table NI23.2 Livestock numbers, June 2007 - 2017 (XLS 17KB)

Average producer prices of agricultural products, 2012 - 2017

Table NI24.1 Average producer prices¹ of agricultural products, 2012 - 2017
£ per unit
	Unit	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
							(provisional)
Finished steers, heifers and young bulls	head	1,074	1,157	1,086	1,106	1,082	1,162
Finished steers, heifers and young bulls	kg dwt	3.17	3.55	3.29	3.26	3.19	3.48
Calves slaughtered or exported	head	244	247	297	308	304	303
Culled cows and bulls	head	740	785	681	666	670	747
Culled cows and bulls	kg dwt	2.44	2.57	2.18	2.14	2.16	2.47
Store cattle exported	head	711	762	771	795	749	801
Finished sheep and lambs	head	78.46	82.39	83.08	73.89	83.00	86.08
Finished sheep and lambs	kg dwt	3.64	3.87	3.82	3.40	3.88	3.97
Finished clean pigs	head	115.44	130.72	125.01	102.41	102.22	134.79
Finished clean pigs	kg dwt	1.40	1.56	1.46	1.19	1.18	1.52
Milk²	litre	0.262	0.318	0.297	0.212	0.206	0.290
Eggs for consumption	dozen	0.805	0.734	0.722	0.756	0.751	0.726
Broilers	kg lwt	0.804	0.860	0.812	0.750	0.713	0.753
Potatoes:
Ware maincrop³	tonne	153	196	125	129	153	152
Seed	tonne	157	218	167	153	171	173
Barley	tonne	196	179	146	130	134	154
Wheat	tonne	203	195	156	136	137	161
Oats	tonne	207	193	162	153	149	155
Mushrooms	tonne	1,425	1,450	1,484	1,496	1,496	1,496
Apples	tonne	183	267	259	265	266	265
¹Before deduction of marketing charges, commissions and levies, where applicable.
²Before deduction of superlevy, if applicable.
³Does not include early potatoes. Therefore, the price differs from that quoted in Table 2.24.
Source: Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture 2017, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland

Open in Excel: Table NI24.1 Average producer prices of agricultural products, 2012 - 2017 (XLS 14KB)

Aggregate Agricultural Account: estimated output, input, value added and income of agriculture, 2012 - 2017

Open in Excel:

Table NI24.2 Aggregate Agricultural Account: estimated output, input, value added and income of agriculture

Table NI24.2 Aggregate Agricultural Account: estimated output, input, value added and income of agriculture, 2012 - 2017¹
£million
		2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
							(provisional)
	Output²
	Livestock and livestock products³
	Finished cattle and calves⁴	415.7	442.3	391.9	402.3	432.9	459.9
	Finished sheep and lambs⁴	68.9	66.7	69.4	63.2	75.0	73.4
	Finished pigs	114.5	132.5	133.4	114.8	121.0	163.4
	Poultry⁵	241.6	265.2	257.9	249.1	252.7	275.3
	Eggs⁶	65.6	67.4	79.6	88.6	94.9	99.9
	Milk	525.5	640.5	654.2	480.1	453.3	661.5
	Minor products⁷	12.9	15.0	15.0	15.3	14.3	15.3
	Total livestock and livestock products	1,444.8	1,629.7	1,601.5	1,413.5	1,444.1	1,748.8

	Field crops
	Potatoes	19.0	26.5	18.8	17.1	20.2	23.8
	Cereals	37.8	38.3	31.6	28.9	26.7	30.4
	of which: barley	24.8	25.0	19.8	18.3	16.7	17.6
	wheat	11.2	11.4	9.9	8.7	8.2	10.8
	oats	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	2.0
	Other crops⁸	13.3	14.9	12.4	12.4	10.5	11.4
	Total field crops	70.1	79.7	62.7	58.3	57.5	65.5

	Horticultural products
	Fruit	5.5	9.8	11.4	11.8	10.7	11.3
	Vegetables	15.0	20.5	22.2	21.5	19.1	18.7
	Mushrooms	38.4	40.6	54.6	67.5	53.5	53.1
	Ornamental and hardy nursery stock	9.5	12.0	14.3	18.9	20.9	25.3
	Total horticultural products	68.4	82.8	102.5	119.6	104.1	108.4

	Capital formation (breeding livestock)	89.8	72.4	59.2	74.5	90.0	79.6

	Agricultural contract work⁹	71.4	77.7	79.6	73.6	74.8	77.0

	Milk quota leasing	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

	Inseparable non-agricultural activities¹⁰	15.1	17.5	17.6	17.4	13.4	13.4

A	Gross output	1,759.6	1,959.9	1,923.2	1,756.8	1,783.9	2,092.8

	Input (also known as 'intermediate consumption')
	Expenditure
	Feedstuffs¹¹	719.4	796.9	773.5	727.9	707.0	782.7
	Seeds¹²	9.3	12.2	11.1	10.6	10.1	9.8
	Marketing expenses¹³	38.1	36.0	35.5	36.5	38.4	38.7
	Fertilisers and lime	83.0	101.8	82.5	74.1	70.7	84.2
	Total machinery expenses (excl. depreciation)	150.2	153.9	152.2	139.2	137.0	142.6
	Farm maintenance	43.0	43.5	44.4	42.5	40.9	40.7
	Veterinary expenses and medicines	55.6	57.5	60.1	61.1	62.2	64.1
	Other variable costs¹⁴	56.9	63.3	68.0	67.9	69.6	71.0
	Miscellaneous expenses¹⁵	117.4	122.3	132.8	138.2	129.5	131.0
	Agricultural contract work	71.4	77.7	79.6	73.7	74.8	77.0
	Milk quota leasing	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	FISIM¹⁶	8.1	9.2	7.2	6.7	7.3	8.2
B	Gross input	1,352.4	1,474.3	1,447.0	1,378.7	1,347.0	1,449.2

C	Gross value added (A-B)	407.2	485.2	475.3	376.6	436.8	643.6

	Consumption of fixed capital (depreciation)
	- livestock	70.3	65.0	64.8	62.8	83.6	70.7
	- plant, machinery and vehicles	118.1	122.3	124.2	124.5	127.0	134.0
	- buildings and works	118.6	118.4	116.8	114.4	114.3	113.0
D	Total consumption of fixed capital	307.0	305.7	305.8	301.7	324.9	317.7

	Other subsidies (not paid on products)¹⁷	294.6	314.3	292.5	284.7	304.6	313.2
	Other taxes (not levied on products)¹⁸	8.1	8.1	8.2	8.3	8.7	8.9

E	Other subsidies (less taxes)	286.5	306.2	284.3	276.4	296.0	304.3

F	Net value added (at factor cost) (C-D+E)	386.8	485.8	453.8	351.3	407.9	630.2

G	Paid labour	67.1	63.5	65.2	68.8	68.2	72.7
H	Interest	29.0	30.7	31.3	32.3	32.0	29.0
I	Net rent19	47.8	48.4	51.3	51.7	54.4	55.1

J	Total income from farming²⁰ (F-G-H-I)	242.9	343.2	306.1	198.5	253.3	473.4
¹A description of the methodology relating to this series and the derivation of the main aggregates, is given in the Appendix.
²Output represents the estimated value of home-produced sales, including the value of inter-farm transfers and on-farm use (see Appendix). It includes the value of subsidies on products, the sale value of store animals imported from the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain and finished in Northern Ireland and the value of produce used in farm households. Stock change estimates are included within the individual output and input items.
³Includes finished, breeding and store animals exported to the Republic of Ireland and shipped to Great Britain. The value of imported animals has been deducted.
⁴The LFA Compensatory Allowance (or Areas of Natural Constraint payment from 2015) is included in 'other subsidies'.
⁵Includes shipments and exports of breeding and non-breeding birds, and eggs for hatching.
⁶Includes eggs for processing and duck eggs.
⁷Includes horses, wool, deer and minor livestock products.
⁸Hay, straw, flax, linseed, oilseed rape, mixed corn, protein crops, lawn turf, triticale, hemp and forage crops.
⁹Receipts to both farmer contractors and specialist contractors.
¹⁰Receipts from non-agricultural activities which use farm resources.
¹¹Includes home-fed cereals, proteins, forage crops, hay and stockfeed potatoes. The figure for 2013 includes additional cost of fodder imported under the fodder transport scheme.
¹²Includes home-saved seed.
¹³Hired transport charges, auction fees, slaughter charges and inter farm expenses.
¹⁴Livestock costs other than veterinary and medicines, crop protection, other crop costs, packaging and royalties and levies.
¹⁵Electricity, heating fuel, water rates, fire insurance and other overheads.
¹⁶FISIM - Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured. A description is provided on page 25.
¹⁷Includes Single Farm Payment (for the years 2011-2014), Basic, Greening and Young Farmer's Payments (from 2015), LFA Compensatory Allowance (or Areas of Natural Constraint payment from 2015), payments for the non-capital element of the Environmentally Sensitive Area Scheme, Countryside Management Scheme and other minor grants and subsidies. See table 2.10 for a breakdown of this item.
¹⁸Farm rates and vehicle road tax.
¹⁹Conacre payments to non-producing landowners.
²⁰This estimate should be regarded only as an indicator of trend. The income estimate, being a residual, is subject to cumulative errors in the estimation of input and output items (see Appendix).
Source: Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture 2017, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland

Open in Excel: Table NI24.2 Aggregate Agricultural Account: estimated output, input, value added and income of agriculture, 2012 - 2017 (XLS 22KB)

Indices of producer prices of agricultural output, 2012 - 2017

Table NI24.3 Indices of producer prices¹ of agricultural output, 2012 - 2017
Indices: 2015 = 100
	Weights²	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
							(provisional)
Finished steers and heifers	216	97	109	101	100	98	107
Culled cows and bulls	41	114	120	102	100	101	116
Store cattle exported	6	89	96	97	100	94	101
Finished sheep and lambs	37	107	114	112	100	114	117
Finished clean pigs	75	118	131	123	100	99	128
Milk	303	124	150	140	100	97	135
Eggs for consumption	56	107	98	96	100	99	97
Broilers	120	107	115	108	100	95	100
Potatoes:
Ware maincrop	12	119	152	97	100	118	119
Seed	1	103	143	109	100	110	113
Barley	12	150	137	112	100	102	118
Wheat	6	149	144	115	100	101	118
Mushrooms	43	95	97	99	100	100	100
Apples	7	68	99	96	100	98	98

Total products index²	935	111	125	117	100	99	117
Inputs index³	1,000	105	110	107	100	100	101
¹The indices relate to prices from which marketing expenses have not been deducted.
²The total products index is calculated by taking into account the significance of each item in the base period (2015). This is shown in the column of weights. Since only the main items of output are included, the total of their weights does not add to 1,000. Also, since the price index does not cover items such as production grants, compensation payments and gross fixed capital formation, it should not be regarded as a 'deflator' to be used in estimating the volume of output. (A volume series of gross output is given in Table 2.3).
³This index does not cover all inputs. It comprises feedstuffs, seeds, fertilisers and lime and marketing expenses.
Source: Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture 2017, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland

Open in Excel: Table NI24.3 Indices of producer prices of agricultural output, 2012 - 2017 (XLS 14KB)

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Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2018

Northern Ireland Agriculture

Number of farms in Northern Ireland, June 2007 - 2017

Crop areas in Northern Ireland, 2007-2017

Livestock numbers, June 2007 - 2017

Average producer prices of agricultural products, 2012 - 2017

Aggregate Agricultural Account: estimated output, input, value added and income of agriculture, 2012 - 2017

Indices of producer prices of agricultural output, 2012 - 2017

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