Northern Irish agricultural incomes increased by over 17% from £515m in 2021 to £605m in 2022, provisional figures show.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has published the first estimate for farm incomes in 2022.
They show that total gross output for agriculture in Northern Ireland was 23 percent higher at £3.07 billion in 2022.
There was a 26% increase in the value of output from the livestock sector, while field crops increased by 31% and horticulture increased by 12%.
Dairying remains the largest contributor to the total value of gross output at £1.13 billion in 2022; an increase of 40% between 2021 and 2022.
The annual average farm-gate milk price increased by 41% to 44.5 pence per litre while the volume of raw milk produced in Northern Ireland decreased by 0.6% to 2.5 billion litres.
The output value of cattle was 16% higher at £603 million in 2022. The total number of animals slaughtered increased by 9.3% in 2022, whereas the average carcase weights for clean and cull animals were 0.9% and 1.9% lower respectively.
These changes resulted in the volume of meat produced being 8.0% higher in 2022.
The average producer price for finished clean cattle was £4.17 per kilogram in 2022 while the average producer price for cull animals was £3.15 per kilogram.
These prices were 9% and 17% higher than their respective averages for 2021. In addition to these changes, there were also a decrease in the number of store cattle imported to Northern Ireland in 2022.
The value of output from sheep increased by 6% to £106 million in 2022. The total number of sheep slaughtered increased by 6% in 2022 whereas the average carcass weight increased by 0.8% to 22 kilograms.
Volume of sheep meat produced increased 7% in 2022. The average producer price decreased by 0.1% to £5.35 per kg.
The value of output in the poultry sector increased by 16% to £376 million in 2022 while the egg sector increased by 18% to £148 million.
The value of pig output also increased by 24% to £259m. The poultry sector recorded a 6% decrease in its production volume for 2022.
The pig and egg sectors recorded a 4% and 5% increase in their respective production volumes when compared with their previous year levels.
All intensive sectors recorded an increase in their producer prices for 2022 with poultry up 25%, eggs up 13%, and pigs up 19% when compared to the previous year.
The total output value for field crops increased by 31% in 2022 to £109 million. This was mainly as a result of increases in grain and potato prices in 2022.
The value of output for cereals increased by 35% to £64m whereas the value of output for potatoes increased by 37% to £27m.
Output values for field crops are across a calendar year and include production from two harvests.
The value of output recorded in the horticulture sector was higher year on year for 2022, at £96m.
Mushrooms and flowers are the main contributors to this sector in value terms, with a combined estimated output value of £57m.
