Beef price boom of 2025 sees suckler farmers clear debt

Suckler farmers acted on the beef price boom of 2025 and moved to clear on-farm debt, Teagasc national farm survey data for the year indicates. The average debt on suckler and sheep farms declined by over 30% in 2025, the survey found. Some 23% of suckler farms had debt in 2025, while 19% of sheep farms had borrowings. The average debt on suckler farms last year stood at €24,957. The average sheep farm debt was €25,089. Debt on beef finisher farms increased by 4% to an average just shy of €46,000. Some 29% of finishers had debt last year. Dairy and tillage Across all farm systems, 34% of farms have farm business related debt. This figure varies considerably by farm type. In 2025, 69% of dairy farms had farm related borrowings and 45% of tillage farmers had loans. The average dairy farm debt in 2025 declined year-on-year to €144,717 and the average debt on tillage farms declined marginally to €86,859. Investment There was an overall increase in gross new investment on Irish farms in 2025, up 7%, the survey found. “In aggregate, investment totalled over €1.6bn in 2025 across the farms represented by the survey. “Investment on dairy farms remained highest; with an average spend of €52,174 per farm in 2025, representing a 6% increase in investment on the average dairy farm compared to 2024,” Teagasc said. Overall, investment on dairy farms accounted for about half of total farm investment identified in the survey last year. Investment on tillage farms increased in 2024, up 2% year-on-year to €22,763, on average. Investment levels on drystock farms are on average lower, with investment spending of €11,614 on beef finishing farms, €6,818 on suckler and €7,669 on sheep farms in 2025, all increasing year-on-year.