In 2018, net subsidies accounted for 59.3% of agricultural income (operating surplus) at State level. The two regions where net subsidies contributed most to agricultural income were the Midland and West regions, where net subsidies comprised 103.2% and 87.9% of operating surplus respectively. The region with the lowest net subsidies to income ratio was the South-West region, where net subsidies accounted for 43.7% of agricultural income. (See headline table above and table 4)

A regional analysis of agricultural output, income and expenditure for the year 2018 shows the following:

• The South-West and Mid-West regions made the largest contributions of all regions to agricultural output, accounting for 21.1% and 17.0% respectively of the national total. The lowest contribution was made by the West region, which produced just 9.6% of the total. (See table 3)
• The South-West region produced 23.9% of the State’s agricultural operating surplus with the Mid-West region contributing 17.1% towards the national total. (See table 3)
• The West and Border regions had the highest dependency on livestock, with 55.8% and 50.4% of their respective agricultural output derived from livestock. (See table 3)
• The Border region accounts for almost a quarter (22.7%) of national pig (See table 2)
• Between them, the Border and West regions produce 50.9% of the State’s sheep (See table 2)
• Almost a third (32.2%) of livestock products were produced in the South-West region with the West region contributing just 4.1% to total livestock products. (See table 3)
• The South-West region produced 32.7% of national milk output, with milk production accounting for 45.8% of the region’s agricultural output. (See table 2)
• Almost a quarter (22.7%) of all crops were produced in the Dublin & Mid-East region with the South-East region accounting for a further 18.2%. While at a national level, crop production accounted for 24.2% of agricultural output, in the Dublin & Mid-East region, crops accounted for 39.8% of its agricultural output. (See table 2)
• Between 2017 and 2018, intermediate consumption costs increased by 13.0% nationally with the Mid-West and West regions experiencing the largest increases at 16.6% and 16.4% respectively. (See table 2)
• At State level, operating surplus fell by 16.8% between 2017 and 2018. The regions that experienced the largest percentage falls were the Midland and South-West regions, with operating surplus falls of 25.9% and 20.2% respectively (See table 4).
• Nationally, 69.4% of the value of agricultural output was required to cover the costs associated with intermediate consumption. In the West, Midland and Border regions, 77.5%, 77.4% and 76.4% respectively of the value of their region’s agricultural output was required to cover expenditure on intermediate consumption. (See table 2/3)
• Feedingstuffs were the largest contributor to intermediate consumption costs, accounting for 28.0% of the State’s total expenditure on intermediate consumption. In the Border, Mid-West and South-West, expenditure on feedingstuff accounted for 39.1%, 29.6% and 29.6% respectively of their regional expenditure on intermediate consumption. (See table 2)

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