Main points

Teagasc report says Ireland could have as few as 10,000 dairy farmers by 2015

Dairy:

fewer than 8,000 Irish dairy farms will be viable in 2015, with the number of farmers involved falling from 24,000 in 2004 to 10,000 in 2015.

Beef: Only 6 per cent of beef farms will be viable in 2015 compared to 15 per cent at present. Part-time farming and EU payments will keep farms going as a survival strategy. No mass exodus from the land.

Tillage: Only 17 per cent of tillage farms viable in 2015 compared to 54 per cent at present. This has been accelerated by the closure of the sugar industry.