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Farm Structure Survey 2016

Farm Ownership and Labour Input

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Farm Holder

Of the 137,500 farms in Ireland in 2016, 137,100 (99.7%) were classified as family farms.
Over 88% (121,100) of family farm holders were male.
More than half of holders were aged 55 or over, while just 5% of farm holders were aged under 35.
The proportion of farm holders aged 65 and over was highest in the Mixed Field Crops (40.2%), Specialist Beef (32.4%) and Specialist Sheep (29.8%) farm types.

Significance of Farmwork

More than half (72,500) of farm holders stated that farming was their sole occupation, while just under one-quarter (23.5%) regarded it as a subsidiary occupation.
Almost half (52.1%) of farm holders for whom farming was their sole occupation were in the Specialist Beef production category, and a further 17.5% were in Specialist Dairying.
Specialist Dairying had the highest proportion of farmers with farming as their sole occupation (78.9%).
Those in the Specialist Sheep and Mixed Field Crop farm types were least likely to have farming as their sole occupation, with 45.7% and 45.1% of holders considering farming as their sole occupation respectively.
Almost 40% (50,500) of farm holders worked a full AWU in 2016, while a further 21.1% worked between 0.75 and 1 AWU.

Farm Workforce

In 2016, 265,400 people worked on farms.
Of these, 51.7% (137,100) were the farm holders, 41.4% (109,800) were family members and the remainder were non-family workers (18,500).
Over a quarter (71,700) of those working on farms were female. However, less than one quarter (16,100) were holders of the farms on which they worked.
Just over one quarter (26%) of people working on farms worked full time (1.00 Annual Work Unit) while over four in ten (42.8%) contributed less than half an Annual Work Unit.

Labour Input

The farm workforce provided a combined total of 160,700 annual work units (AWU), an average of 1.17 AWU per farm.
Family members of the holder provided 45,700 AWU, almost 30% of the total labour input.
Over one quarter (27.0%) of regular family workers were female, providing 19.0% of total AWUs.
Over three-quarters (76.3%) of holders of farms of 50 hectares and over had worked a full AWU in the reference period, and 73.5% of holders in this category considered farming to be their sole occupation.
Specialist Dairying was the most labour-intensive farm type, with 81.4% of farm holders working a full AWU in 2016, and 93.7% working at least 0.75 AWU.
Farming was the sole occupation for 43% of holders of farms of under 20 hectares, but less than one in five (15.6%) of these holders worked a full AWU in the year, while almost 40% worked less than half an AWU.

Tables 5.5, 5.6, 5.8 and 5.9 were updated on the 1st of March 2019 to correct farm type and Standard Output values.

Table 5.1 Family Farms classified by characteristics of Holder 2016

Table 5.2 Family and regular non-family workers (persons) on all farms 2016

Table 5.3 Total labour input including non-regular labour (AWU) on all farms 2016

Table 5.4 Number of family farms classified by farm size (AAU) and characteristics of holder 2016

Table 5.5 Number of family farms classified by farm type and characteristics of holder 2016

Table 5.6 Number of family farms classified by economic size (SO) and characteristics of holder 2016

Table 5.7 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU) classified by farmsize (AAU) on all farms 2016

Table 5.8 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU), classified by farm type on all farms - 2016

Table 5.9 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU) classified by economic size (SO) on all farms - 2016

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Table 5.1 Family Farms¹classified by characteristics of Holder - 2016
'000
Characteristics of holder	Border, Midland and Western	Southern and Eastern	State
Gender
Males	63.7	57.3	121.1
Females	8.7	7.4	16.1

Age
< 35	4.0	3.5	7.4
35 - 44	10.4	11.0	21.4
45 - 54	16.3	16.2	32.5
55 - 64	18.2	16.5	34.7
>= 65	23.6	17.6	41.2

Annual Work Units²
0 - < 0.25	5.5	4.8	10.3
0.25 - < 0.50	11.0	8.6	19.6
0.50 - < 0.75	16.7	11.2	27.9
0.75 - < 1.00	16.2	12.6	28.9
1.00	23.0	27.5	50.5

Significance of farmwork
Sole Occupation	36.2	36.3	72.5
Major Occupation	18.5	14.0	32.5
Subsidiary Occupation	17.8	14.4	32.2
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 5.2 Family and regular non-family workers (persons) on all farms - 2016
'000
Characteristics of holder	Border, Midland and Western	Southern and Eastern	State
Gender
Males	99.6	94.1	193.7
Females	35.6	36.0	71.7

Annual Work Units¹
0 - < 0.25	31.4	30.7	62.1
0.25 - < 0.50	27.2	24.3	51.5
0.50 - < 0.75	25.2	19.4	44.6
0.75 - < 1.00	20.7	17.4	38.1
1.00	30.9	38.4	69.3

Regular Farm Workers
Holder	72.4	64.7	137.1
Spouse & Other Family	54.8	55.0	109.8
Regular Non-Family Workers	8.1	10.5	18.5
¹ One Annual Work Unit =1,800 hours or more of labour input per person per annum.

Table 5.3 Total labour input including non-regular labour (AWU¹) on all farms - 2016
'000
Characteristics of holder	Border, Midland and Western	Southern and Eastern	State
Total labour input	80.2	80.6	160.7

Family & regular non-family workers
Males	63.9	63.1	127.0
Females	14.9	15.5	30.5

Family workers	74.7	72.8	147.5
of which: Holder	52.4	49.4	101.8
Other family	22.2	23.4	45.7

Regular non-family workers	4.1	5.9	10.0
Non-regular² labour input	1.4	1.9	3.2

Average labour input per farm	1.11	1.24	1.17
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 5.4 Number of family farms¹ classified by farm size (AAU²) and characteristics of holder - 2016
'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	1.4	1.8	1.3	1.6	1.1	0.2	7.4	32.2
35 - 44	3.4	4.7	3.7	4.9	3.8	1.0	21.4	36.1
45 - 54	5.5	7.2	5.5	7.3	5.7	1.4	32.5	35.2
55 - 64	6.7	8.6	6.2	7.4	4.8	1.1	34.7	31.4
>= 65	9.2	11.3	7.6	7.6	4.4	1.1	41.2	28.6

Annual work units³
0 - < 0.25	4.9	2.8	1.2	0.9	0.4	0.1	10.3	16.1
0.25 - < 0.50	7.9	6.1	2.6	2.0	0.7	0.1	19.5	17.5
0.50 - < 0.75	8.1	9.9	4.9	3.5	1.3	0.2	27.9	20.2
0.75 - < 1.00	2.4	8.2	7.8	7.5	2.5	0.5	28.9	29.6
1.00	2.8	6.5	7.7	14.8	14.8	3.9	50.5	49.3

Significance of farmwork
Sole occupation	10.6	14.9	12.1	16.8	14.3	3.7	72.5	38.5
Major occupation	6.3	8.9	6.3	6.9	3.4	0.6	32.5	28.0
Subsidiary occupation	9.2	9.7	5.8	5.0	2.0	0.4	32.2	22.4

Total	26.1	33.5	24.2	28.7	19.7	4.8	137.1	32.4
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 5.5 Number of family farms¹ classified by farm type² and characteristics of holder - 2016
'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	0.4	0.8	3.9	1.2	0.6	0.1	0.4	0.0	7.4
35 - 44	0.9	3.4	11.4	2.5	1.6	0.4	1.0	0.2	21.4
45 - 54	1.0	5.1	17.7	3.3	2.9	0.5	1.7	0.4	32.5
55 - 64	1.1	4.3	20.0	3.6	3.1	0.5	1.8	0.4	34.7
>= 65	1.3	2.5	25.3	4.5	3.4	0.6	3.3	0.3	41.2

Annual work units³
0 - < 0.25	0.5	0.2	5.4	1.5	0.9	0.1	1.5	0.2	10.3
0.25 - < 0.50	0.6	0.4	11.2	3.0	1.4	0.1	2.5	0.2	19.5
0.50 - < 0.75	1.2	0.4	17.1	4.2	1.9	0.2	2.7	0.2	27.9
0.75 - < 1.00	0.8	2.0	20.4	2.6	2.0	0.4	0.6	0.1	28.9
1.00	1.5	13.1	24.1	3.8	5.4	1.2	0.9	0.6	50.5

Significance of farmwork
Sole Occupation	2.4	12.7	37.8	6.9	6.6	1.4	3.7	0.9	72.5
Major Occupation	1.0	2.3	20.4	3.9	2.6	0.4	1.7	0.2	32.5
Subsidiary Occupation	1.3	1.1	19.9	4.2	2.4	0.3	2.7	0.2	32.2

Total	4.7	16.1	78.2	15.1	11.6	2.1	8.2	1.3	137.1
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 2016

Farm Ownership and Labour Input

Farm Ownership and Labour Input

Farm Holder

Significance of Farmwork

Farm Workforce

Labour Input

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Table 5.6 Number of family farms¹ classified by economic size (SO²) and characteristics of holder - 2016
'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	1.1	1.1	1.5	1.2	1.1	0.6	0.8	7.4	€42,640
35 - 44	2.8	2.7	3.6	3.3	3.4	1.9	3.6	21.4	€57,205
45 - 54	4.7	4.1	5.4	4.8	5.0	3.3	5.3	32.5	€55,690
55 - 64	5.5	5.0	6.4	5.3	5.2	3.2	4.1	34.7	€43,862
>= 65	9.0	7.4	8.2	6.0	5.4	2.6	2.6	41.2	€30,506

Annual work units³
0 - < 0.25	4.5	2.2	1.7	0.9	0.6	0.2	0.2	10.3	€14,344
0.25 - < 0.50	7.6	4.2	3.6	1.9	1.3	0.5	0.3	19.5	€14,245
0.50 - < 0.75	7.2	6.8	6.4	3.8	2.4	0.8	0.5	27.9	€16,981
0.75 - < 1.00	1.8	3.9	7.7	7.0	5.1	2.0	1.5	28.9	€30,100
1.00	2.0	3.2	5.7	7.1	10.6	8.1	13.9	50.5	€86,204

Significance of farmwork
Sole occupation	9.9	8.9	11.4	10.0	11.2	7.9	13.3	72.5	€61,076
Major occupation	5.2	5.3	6.9	5.7	5.1	2.3	2.0	32.5	€30,655
Subsidiary occupation	8.1	6.1	6.8	5.0	3.8	1.4	1.1	32.2	€21,843

Total	23.2	20.3	25.1	20.7	20.0	11.5	16.3	137.1	€44,665
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 5.7 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU¹) classified by farmsize (AAU²) on all farms³ - 2016
'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	26.1	33.5	24.2	28.7	19.7	4.8	137.1
Holder: Annual Work Units (AWU)	13.5	22.5	18.7	24.4	18.2	4.5	101.8

Other Family
Other Family: No. Persons	15.8	23.8	19.2	25.5	20.3	5.1	109.8
Other Family: Annual Work Units (AWU)	5.8	9.2	7.8	10.8	9.4	2.7	45.7

Total family workers
Total Family Workers: No. Persons	41.9	57.3	43.5	54.2	40.0	9.9	246.9
Total Family Workers: Annual Work Units (AWU)	19.3	31.6	26.5	35.2	27.6	7.2	147.5

Regular non-family workers
Regular Non-Family Workers: No. Persons	2.5	3.0	2.6	3.7	4.3	2.5	18.5
Regular Non-Family Workers: Annual Work Units (AWU)	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.7	2.3	1.9	10.0

Total
No. Persons	44.4	60.3	46.0	57.9	44.4	12.5	265.4
Annual Work Units (AWU)	20.8	33.1	27.8	37.0	29.8	9.0	157.5

Total Farms³	26.2	33.6	24.3	28.7	19.9	4.9	137.5

Average Per Farm
Persons	1.7	1.8	1.9	2.0	2.2	2.6	1.9
Annual Work Units (AWU)	0.80	1.00	1.17	1.32	1.55	1.91	1.17
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 5.8 Family and regular non-family workers (persons and AWU¹), classified by farm type² on all farms³ - 2016
'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	4.7	16.1	78.2	15.1	11.6	2.1	8.2	1.3	137.1
Holder: Annual Work Units (AWU)	3.2	15.3	57.4	10.0	9.0	1.8	4.2	0.9	101.8

Other Family
Other Family: No. Persons	3.6	17.4	60.6	10.1	9.8	1.9	5.2	1.1	109.8
Other Family: Annual Work Units (AWU)	1.5	8.3	24.1	4.0	4.3	0.9	2.1	0.5	45.7

Total family workers
Total Family Workers: No. Persons	8.3	33.5	138.7	25.2	21.3	4.0	13.4	2.3	246.9
Total Family Workers: Annual Work Units (AWU)	4.8	23.6	81.6	14.0	13.2	2.7	6.2	1.4	147.5

Regular non-family workers
Regular Non-Family Workers: No. Persons	1.3	4.1	7.8	1.5	1.7	0.4	1.0	0.8	18.5
Regular Non-Family Workers: Annual Work Units (AWU)	0.9	2.2	3.8	0.6	1.0	0.2	0.6	0.6	10.0

Total
No. Persons	9.6	37.6	146.5	26.7	23.0	4.4	14.3	3.3	265.4
Annual Work Units (AWU)	5.7	25.9	85.4	14.6	14.2	2.9	6.8	2.1	157.5

Total Farms³	4.7	16.1	78.3	15.1	11.6	2.1	8.2	1.3	137.5

Average Per Farm
Persons	2.0	2.3	1.9	1.8	2.0	2.1	1.7	2.5	1.9
Annual Work Units (AWU)	1.21	1.61	1.09	0.97	1.22	1.38	0.83	1.62	1.15
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.