The challenges currently facing Irish farming are multifaceted. Eurostat figures for April, May and June 2026 show a 16.2 per cent drop in output prices received by Irish farmers, compared to the same period in 2025. This drop was three times the EU average. Meanwhile, the costs of inputs like fuel, fertiliser, and animal feed increased by 10 per cent, an increase two times the EU average.
Added to this, Irish farming faces a crisis in generational renewal, with the average Irish farmer now standing at 59 years old. According to a survey conducted by Agriland, 1 in 3 farmers intend to leave farming in the next five years, while 80 per cent expect a fall in income within the next year. The lack of young farmers taking over businesses has generated fears that Irish farms will increasingly move away from traditional family farms toward larger, more industrialized, and less environmentally friendly models.
In response, the EU has been prompted to introduce a fertiliser support scheme, allocating €15 million in exceptional support to Ireland, and allowing the Irish government to allocate additional national funding to agriculture, up to 200 per cent of the EU allocation. This is a temporary support measure, which, while bringing farmers financial relief in the immediate purchase of fertiliser, does not address the systematic long-term issues facing Irish and European farms. Moreover, Ireland currently benefits from an EU nitrates derogation scheme, whereby roughly 7000 Irish farmers are permitted to spread more fertiliser and therefore have a larger herd size than permitted in other EU countries under environmental regulations.
However, Ireland’s failure to protect its water quality against fertiliser runoff is jeopardizing the nitrates derogation scheme. The environmental consequences of failing to reduce our fertiliser usage are exceptionally high at a time when the Environmental Protection Agency has found that only 55 per cent of Irish rivers were in a satisfactory condition between 2020 and 2023. This is in large part due to nitrogen pollution in Irish waters as a consequence of agricultural activity. In addition to poor water quality, the impact of high fertiliser usage on Irish emissions of greenhouse gases and soil quality also has to be considered.
Similarly, the increased prevalence of adverse weather conditions introduces key risks for Irish and European farming. This summer saw high temperatures and evaporation levels, leading to a lack of soil moisture and grass growth, with July being the driest July experienced by Ireland in a century, at 16.1mm of rain. This forced Irish farmers — particularly in the south and south-east — to use winter fodder reserves to feed livestock. Consequently, farmers are likely to experience fodder shortages throughout the winter months.
Moreover, research carried out by Maynooth University indicates that high levels of evapotranspiration and dry soil resulting from high summer temperatures will likely be followed by waterlogging later in the year as Irish winters get wetter. These changes will also have implications for soil quality and agricultural output.
And these changes are not isolated to Ireland; European food security is threatened by the EU’s reliance on animal feed imports from countries that themselves are experiencing the effects of climate change, such as Argentina and Brazil.
Climate change is now a long-term threat to Irish and European food production, prices and security. Replacing short-term financial support schemes with long-term, systemic policy solutions is therefore essential. Farmers will also require more information about the individual climate risks they are facing, and specialised advice on how best to adapt their businesses. As a result, the Climate Change Advisory Council is calling on the Department of Agriculture to create, within the next 12 months, a “practical climate-risk toolkit tailored to individual land parcels.”
The CCAC review also found Ireland’s reliance on imported fruit and vegetables (83 per cent) left Ireland vulnerable to supply chain shocks and crop failures in other countries, and therefore made the strengthening of Irish horticulture necessary. As climate pressures continue during summer months, irrigation demand in Ireland is likely to increase, specifically for Irish horticulturalists.
Diversification of farms is another key CCAC recommendation, with forestry, carbon farming, and renewable energy all being avenues farmers could be supported in incorporating within their existing business model. However, Ireland’s agricultural sector only reduced its emissions by 0.2 per cent last year, and has failed to meet its forestry targets again this year. Thus, attracting more farmers into agro-forestry will be an important priority for those wishing to see Ireland increase its forestry and support farm diversification.
As negotiations continue on changes to the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in advance of the new EU budget 2028, whether Irish farmers see a drop in financial support granted to them by the EU, and what environmental standards farms have to comply with to receive funding, will be important factors in determining the future of Irish and European agricultural industries.
