With fertile soils, a temperate climate and abundant rain water, Ireland has enviable natural advantages for farming the land to produce food, fibre and fuel. Ireland’s climate is particularly suited for the growth of grass, an excellent and inexpensive feed for livestock. This simple comparative advantage is the basis for much of Ireland’s farming today.

The country also has a rich tradition of stockmanship and crop husbandry, with farming skills handed down through at least 200 generations. The Ceide Fields on the north Mayo coast contain the remains of a 5,000 year old Stone Age farming landscape of stone walled fields, preserved beneath the growing blanket bog. Research has shown that they were a highly organised community of farmers who worked together on clearing hundreds of acres of forestry and dividing the land into fields for cattle rearing.

Today, beef and milk production are the two most important farming sectors in Ireland, accounting for around 60% of agricultural output. Ireland's agri-food exports hit over €1bn per month in 2018. The scale of our farming output relative to our domestic population of 4m people mean that Ireland exports some 90% of its net beef output, making Ireland the largest beef exporter in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Similarly, 85% of dairy output is exported

25.06.2019