You are here: Home / Statistics / Farm Structure Survey 2013 / Detailed Analysis / Farm Ownership and Labour Input

Farm Structure Survey 2013

Farm Ownership and Labour Input

Open in Excel:

Farm Holder

Of the 139,600 farms in Ireland in 2013, 139,100 (99.6%) were classified as family farms.
Over 88% (122,900) of family farm holders were male.
More than half of holders were aged 55 or over, while just 5.9% of farm holders were aged under 35.
The proportion of farm holders aged 65 and over was lowest in specialist dairying (14.1%) and mixed field crops (16.7%) and highest in other (35.4%) and specialist beef production(29.3%).

Significance of Farmwork

Over half (70,300) of farm holders stated that farming was their sole occupation, while just under one-quarter (24.1%) regarded it as a subsidiary occupation.
Over half (52.3%) of farm holders for whom farming was their sole occupation were in the Specialist beef production category, and a further 17.8% were in Specialist dairying.
Specialist dairying had the highest proportion of farmers with farming as their sole occupation (80.1%).
Those in the specialist sheep and other categories were least likely to have farming as their sole occupation, with 42.7% and 35.4% having farming as their sole occupation respectively.
Almost 40% (52,900) of farm holders worked a full AWU in 2013, while a further 19.5% worked between 0.75 and 1 AWU.

Farm Workforce

In 2013, 269,500 people worked on farms.
Of these, 51.6% (139,100) were the farm holders, 42.0% (113,200) were family members and the remainder were non-family workers (17,200).
Over a quarter (74,100) of those working on farms were female. However, just over one-fifth (16,200) were holders of the farms on which they worked.
Just over one quarter (27%) of people working on farms worked full time (1.00 Annual Work Unit) while over four in ten (42.7%) contributed less than half an Annual Work Unit.

Labour Input

The farm workforce provided a combined total of 166,700 annual work units (AWU), an average of 1.19 AWU per farm.
Family members of the holder provided 47,900 AWU, almost 30% of the total labour input.
The average labour input per farm was highest in the South-East region (1.35 AWU per farm). The lowest average AWU per farm was in the Border region (1.08 AWU per farm).
Over one quarter (27.5%) of regular family workers were female, providing 19.0% of total AWUs
Over three-quarters (77.8%) of holders of farms of 50 hectares and over had worked a full AWU in the reference period, and 73.8% of holders in this category declared farming as their sole occupation.
Specialist dairying was the most labour-intensive farm type, with 84.0% of farm holders working a full AWU in 2013, and 94.9% working at least 0.75 AWU. In contrast, just 12.7% of farm holders on Other farms worked 0.75 AWU or more.
Farming was the sole occupation for 38.0% of holders of farms of under 20 hectares, but only 15.7% of these holders worked a full AWU in the year, while almost 40% worked less than half an AWU.

Table 4.1 Family Farms classified by characteristics of Holder 2013

Table 4.2 Family and regular non-family workers (persons) on all farms 2013

Table 4.3 Total labour input including non-regular labour (AWU) on all farms 2013

Table 4.4 Number of family farms classified by farm size (AAU) and characteristics of holder 2013

Table 4.5 Number of family farms classified by farm type and characteristics of holder 2013

Table 4.6 Number of family farms classified by economic size (SO) and characteristics of holder 2013

Table 4.7 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU) classified by farmsize (AAU) on all farms 2013

Table 4.8 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU), classified by farm type on all farms - 2013

Table 4.9 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU) classified by economic size (SO) on all farms - 2013

Go to next page>>

Go to previous page>>

Why you can Trust the CSO

Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.

go to trust & transparency

Table 4.1 Family Farms¹classified by characteristics of Holder - 2013
('000)
Characteristics of holder	Border, Midland and Western				Southern and Eastern					State
Characteristics of holder	Border	Midland	West	Border, Midland and Western	Mid-East and Dublin	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	Southern and Eastern	State

Gender
Males	25.3	11.5	27.7	64.6	9.1	14.4	14.8	20.0	58.3	122.9
Females	3.3	1.3	4.2	8.9	1.2	1.8	1.8	2.5	7.3	16.2

Age
< 35	2.0	0.8	1.4	4.2	0.6	1.0	1.1	1.5	4.1	8.2
35 - 44	4.6	2.2	4.2	11.0	1.6	2.9	3.1	4.3	11.9	22.8
45 - 54	6.9	3.3	7.4	17.6	2.7	4.2	4.4	5.9	17.1	34.8
55 - 64	7.2	3.2	8.6	18.9	2.6	4.2	4.1	5.7	16.6	35.6
>= 65	7.9	3.4	10.4	21.7	2.9	4.0	4.0	5.1	16.0	37.7

Annual Work Units²
0 - < 0.25	2.6	1.1	2.7	6.3	1.0	1.3	1.3	1.8	5.4	11.7
0.25 - < 0.50	4.9	1.8	5.0	11.6	1.6	2.1	2.1	3.0	8.9	20.5
0.50 - < 0.75	6.5	2.3	7.2	15.9	1.9	2.8	2.5	3.8	10.9	26.9
0.75 - < 1.00	5.9	2.5	7.1	15.5	1.7	3.3	2.6	4.1	11.7	27.1
1.00	8.9	5.2	10.0	24.1	4.2	6.8	8.1	9.7	28.8	52.9

Significance of farmwork
Sole Occupation	13.3	6.5	15.2	35.0	5.4	8.4	9.6	12.0	35.3	70.3
Major Occupation	7.9	3.3	8.8	19.9	2.3	4.0	3.7	5.4	15.4	35.2
Subsidiary Occupation	7.5	3.1	8.0	18.6	2.6	3.9	3.4	5.1	14.9	33.5
¹Farms run by commercial concerns or institutions are excluded from this table.
² One Annual Work Unit =1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum.

Table 4.2 Family and regular non-family workers (persons) on all farms - 2013
('000)
Worker Characteristic	Border, Midland and Western				Southern and Eastern					State
Worker Characteristic	Border	Midland	West	Border, Midland and Western	Mid-East and Dublin	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	Southern and Eastern	State

Gender
Males	38.8	18.5	43.1	100.3	15.7	23.0	24.7	31.8	95.1	195.4
Females	13.1	6.9	16.8	36.8	5.8	9.1	9.8	12.6	37.3	74.1

Annual Work Units¹
0 - < 0.25	11.8	5.9	13.8	31.5	5.0	7.7	7.9	10.2	30.8	62.3
0.25 - < 0.50	10.8	5.0	12.2	28.0	4.2	6.0	6.3	8.3	24.8	52.8
0.50 - < 0.75	9.8	4.0	11.2	24.9	3.3	5.0	4.8	6.7	19.8	44.7
0.75 - < 1.00	7.6	3.4	9.1	20.2	2.5	4.4	3.9	5.9	16.7	36.9
1.00	11.9	7.1	13.5	32.6	6.4	9.1	11.5	13.3	40.2	72.8

Regular Farm Workers
Holder	28.6	12.9	31.9	73.5	10.3	16.2	16.6	22.5	65.6	139.1
Spouse & Other Family	20.4	11.0	24.9	56.2	9.1	13.9	15.0	18.9	56.9	113.2
Regular Non-Family Workers	2.8	1.6	3.0	7.4	2.0	2.0	2.9	3.0	9.8	17.2
¹ One Annual Work Unit =1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum.

Table 4.3 Total labour input including non-regular labour (AWU¹) on all farms - 2013
										('000)
Worker Characteristic	Annual Work Units (AWU)
	Border, Midland and Western				Southern & Eastern
	Border	Midland	West	Border, Midland and Western	Mid-East & Dublin	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	Southern and Eastern	State
	Border	Midland	West	Border, Midland and Western	Mid-East & Dublin	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	Southern and Eastern	State

Total labour input	31.2	15.7	35.6	82.5	13.4	19.9	22.5	28.2	84.1	166.7

Family & regular non-family workers
Males	24.8	12.3	27.7	64.8	10.3	15.3	17.1	21.5	64.3	129.0
Females	5.5	2.9	7.1	15.4	2.5	3.8	4.2	5.5	16.1	31.6

Family workers	28.6	14.3	33.1	76.0	11.5	18.1	19.5	25.4	74.5	150.5
of which: Holder	20.2	9.6	22.9	52.7	7.6	12.3	12.9	17.1	49.8	102.6
Other family	8.4	4.6	10.2	23.3	3.9	5.8	6.6	8.3	24.6	47.9

Regular non-family workers	1.6	0.9	1.7	4.2	1.4	1.1	1.8	1.7	5.9	10.1

Non-regular² labour input	0.9	0.6	0.9	2.3	0.6	0.8	1.2	1.2	3.7	6.0

Average labour input per farm	1.08	1.22	1.11	1.12	1.29	1.23	1.35	1.25	1.28	1.19
¹ One Annual Work Unit =1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum
²Non-Regular Labour includes casual, relief and contract workers. A gender breakdown is not available for this category.

Table 4.4 Number of family farms¹ classified by farm size (AAU²) and characteristics of holder - 2013
('000)
Characteristics of holder	Farm size (AAU) - hectares						Total	Average farm size (ha)
	< 10	10 - < 20	20 - < 30	30 - < 50	50 - < 100	>= 100
	< 10	10 - < 20	20 - < 30	30 - < 50	50 - < 100	>= 100

Age
< 35	1.6	2.2	1.4	1.7	1.0	0.2	8.2	29.8
35 - 44	3.5	4.9	3.7	5.4	4.2	1.0	22.8	36.1
45 - 54	5.7	7.8	5.9	8.1	5.9	1.3	34.8	34.5
55 - 64	6.7	8.9	6.4	7.7	4.8	1.1	35.6	31.6
>= 65	7.8	10.3	7.0	7.3	4.3	1.1	37.7	29.3

Annual work units³
0 - < 0.25	5.7	3.0	1.4	1.0	0.4	0.1	11.7	16.1
0.25 - < 0.50	7.9	6.8	2.8	2.1	0.7	0.1	20.5	17.6
0.50 - < 0.75	6.9	9.9	4.9	3.8	1.3	0.2	26.9	21.1
0.75 - < 1.00	2.1	7.8	7.5	7.1	2.2	0.5	27.1	29.6
1.00	2.7	6.6	8.0	16.2	15.6	3.7	52.9	48.8

Significance of farmwork
Sole occupation	8.6	14.0	11.7	17.6	14.8	3.5	70.3	39.7
Major occupation	6.2	9.8	7.1	7.7	3.7	0.8	35.2	28.7
Subsidiary occupation	10.5	10.3	5.7	4.9	1.7	0.3	33.5	21.0

Total	25.3	34.1	24.6	30.2	20.2	4.6	139.1	32.5
¹Farms run by commercial concerns or institutions are excluded from this table.
²Agricultural Area Utilised
³One Annual Work Unit = 1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum

Table 4.5 Number of family farms¹ classified by farm type² and characteristics of holder - 2013
('000)
Characteristics of holder	Farm Type
Characteristics of holder	Specialist tillage	Specialist dairying	Specialist beef production	Specialist sheep	Mixed grazing livestock	Mixed crops and livestock	Mixed field Crops	Other	Total

Age
< 35	0.5	0.8	4.3	1.2	0.7	0.2	0.1	0.5	8.2
35 - 44	1.0	3.7	11.9	2.5	2.0	0.4	0.2	1.0	22.8
45 - 54	1.2	5.0	19.0	3.5	3.5	0.6	0.4	1.7	34.8
55 - 64	1.3	3.9	20.4	3.7	3.6	0.7	0.3	1.8	35.6
>= 65	1.3	2.2	23.0	4.1	3.4	0.7	0.2	2.8	37.7

Annual work units³
0 - < 0.25	0.7	0.2	6.1	1.6	1.1	0.1	0.2	1.8	11.7
0.25 - < 0.50	0.7	0.3	11.8	2.9	1.7	0.2	0.2	2.6	20.5
0.50 - < 0.75	1.3	0.4	16.5	3.9	1.9	0.3	0.2	2.4	26.9
0.75 - < 1.00	0.8	1.7	18.9	2.6	2.0	0.5	0.1	0.4	27.1
1.00	1.7	13.1	25.2	4.0	6.3	1.5	0.6	0.6	52.9

Significance of farmwork
Sole Occupation	2.5	12.5	36.8	6.4	7.1	1.6	0.7	2.8	70.3
Major Occupation	1.3	2.3	21.9	4.1	3.1	0.6	0.2	1.8	35.2
Subsidiary Occupation	1.4	0.8	19.9	4.5	2.9	0.4	0.3	3.3	33.5

Total	5.2	15.6	78.6	15.0	13.1	2.6	1.2	7.9	139.1
¹Farms run by commercial concerns or institutions are excluded from this table.
²For more information on farm type see background notes.
³One annual work unit = 1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum

Farm Structure Survey 2013

Farm Ownership and Labour Input

Farm Ownership and Labour Input

Farm Holder

Significance of Farmwork

Farm Workforce

Labour Input

Contents

Why you can Trust the CSO

Contact:

Links:

Careers

Follow:

Table 4.6 Number of family farms¹ classified by economic size (SO²) and characteristics of holder - 2013
('000)
Characteristics of holder	Standard Output (SO)							Total Family Farms	Average Standard Output (€)
Characteristics of holder	Less than €4,000	€4,000 - < €8,000	€8,000 - < €15,000	€15,000 - < €25,000	€25,000 - < €50,000	€50,000 - < €100,000	Over €100,000	Total Family Farms	Average Standard Output (€)

Age
< 35	1.7	1.4	1.6	1.2	1.0	0.6	0.7	8.2	€32,010
35 - 44	3.9	3.1	3.9	3.4	3.1	2.3	3.2	22.8	€47,651
45 - 54	6.3	5.2	6.2	4.9	4.8	3.5	4.0	34.8	€40,630
55 - 64	7.4	5.9	6.9	5.0	4.6	3.0	2.8	35.6	€33,076
>= 65	10.0	7.4	7.4	5.0	4.2	2.1	1.8	37.7	€24,174

Annual work units³
0 - < 0.25	6.3	2.3	1.5	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.1	11.7	€11,000
0.25 - < 0.50	9.5	4.6	3.4	1.6	0.9	0.3	0.2	20.5	€10,975
0.50 - < 0.75	8.7	6.8	5.7	3.1	1.8	0.5	0.3	26.9	€14,239
0.75 - < 1.00	2.2	5.2	8.3	5.7	3.5	1.5	0.7	27.1	€22,975
1.00	2.5	4.2	7.1	8.2	11.0	8.8	11.1	52.9	€66,006

Significance of farmwork
Sole occupation	10.5	9.6	11.4	9.5	10.7	8.3	10.4	70.3	€49,269
Major occupation	6.9	6.3	8.0	5.8	4.6	2.2	1.5	35.2	€25,150
Subsidiary occupation	11.8	7.2	6.6	4.1	2.4	0.8	0.6	33.5	€14,908

Total	29.2	23.0	26.0	19.4	17.7	11.3	12.5	139.1	€34,880
¹Farms run by commercial concerns or institutions are excluded from this table.
²Standard Output is the average monetary value of the agricultural output at farm-gate prices. See background notes.
³One Annual Work Unit = 1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum

Table 4.7 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU¹) classified by farmsize (AAU²) on all farms³ - 2013
							('000)
Farm characteristics	Farm size (AAU) - hectares						Total
	< 10	10 - < 20	20 - < 30	30 - < 50	50 - < 100	>= 100
	< 10	10 - < 20	20 - < 30	30 - < 50	50 - < 100	>= 100

Family workers
Holder: No. Persons	25.3	34.1	24.5	30.2	20.2	4.6	139.1
Holder: Annual Work Units (AWU)	12.5	22.6	18.8	25.7	18.6	4.3	102.6

Other Family
Other Family: No. Persons	14.4	24.1	19.9	28.0	21.7	5.1	113.2
Other Family: Annual Work Units (AWU)	5.1	9.4	8.3	12.2	10.2	2.7	47.9

Total family workers
Total Family Workers: No. Persons	39.7	58.3	44.4	58.2	41.9	9.8	252.3
Total Family Workers: Annual Work Units (AWU)	17.6	32.0	27.0	37.9	28.8	7.0	150.5

Regular non-family workers
Regular Non-Family Workers: No. Persons	2.4	2.8	2.3	3.5	4.0	2.2	17.2
Regular Non-Family Workers: Annual Work Units (AWU)	1.4	1.5	1.2	1.9	2.4	1.7	10.1

Total
No. Persons	42.1	61.0	46.7	61.7	46.0	12.0	269.5
Annual Work Units (AWU)	19.1	33.5	28.3	39.9	31.2	8.7	160.6

Total Farms⁴	25.4	34.2	24.6	30.3	20.3	4.7	139.6

Average Per Farm
Persons	1.7	1.8	1.9	2.0	2.3	2.5	1.9
Annual Work Units (AWU)	0.76	1.00	1.18	1.37	1.63	2.01	1.19
¹ One annual work unit = 1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum
² Agricultural Area Utilised
³ Both family farms and commercial farms are included in this table. All persons working on commercial farms are classified as regular non-family workers.

Table 4.8 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU¹), classified by farm type² on all farms³ - 2013
									('000)
Charactistics of holder	Farm Type
Charactistics of holder	Specialist tillage	Specialist dairying	Specialist beef production	Specialist sheep	Mixed grazing livestock	Mixed crops and livestock	Mixed Field Crops	Other	Total

Family workers
Holder
Holder: No. Persons	5.2	15.6	78.6	15.0	13.1	2.6	7.9	1.2	139.1
Holder: Annual Work Units (AWU)	3.6	14.9	57.3	10.0	10.1	2.2	3.7	0.9	102.6

Other Family
Other Family: No. Persons	4.0	18.0	61.5	9.9	11.4	2.4	4.7	1.2	113.2
Other Family: Annual Work Units (AWU)	1.7	8.7	25.0	4.0	5.0	1.0	1.8	0.6	47.9

Total family workers
Total Family Workers: No. Persons	9.2	33.6	140.1	24.9	24.5	5.0	12.5	2.4	252.3
Total Family Workers: Annual Work Units (AWU)	5.3	23.6	82.3	13.9	15.1	3.2	5.5	1.5	150.5

Regular non-family workers
Regular Non-Family Workers: No. Persons	1.5	3.3	7.4	1.2	1.8	0.5	0.8	0.8	17.2
Regular Non-Family Workers: Annual Work Units (AWU)	1.1	2.1	3.9	0.6	1.1	0.3	0.4	0.7	10.1

Total
No. Persons	10.7	36.9	147.5	26.1	26.2	5.4	13.3	3.3	269.5
Annual Work Units (AWU)	6.4	25.7	86.3	14.5	16.2	3.5	5.9	2.1	160.6

Total Farms³	5.3	15.6	78.8	15.0	13.1	2.6	7.9	1.3	139.6

Average Per Farm
Persons	2.0	2.4	1.9	1.7	2.0	2.1	1.7	2.6	1.9
Annual Work Units (AWU)	1.31	1.75	1.13	0.99	1.27	1.43	0.77	1.82	1.19
1 One annual work unit = 1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum
² For more information on farm type see background notes.
³ Both family farms and commercial farms are included in this table. All persons working on commercial farms are classified as regular non-family workers.