To ask the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many dairy farmers have (i) diversified their farm business; or (ii) been put out of business, as a result of the recent dairy market crisis; and what support is available to farmers in these circumstances.

Information of farm diversification was collected by DARD in 2013 as part of the EU Farm Structure Survey. The survey results showed that 11 percent of dairy farmers in the north of Ireland had diversified as part of their business activities. No information is available on the number of dairy farms that might have diversified as a consequence of the current market downturn.

The number of farm businesses that cease trading is not tracked and is not readily discernible from the mix of new start-ups, mergers, splits and transfers of farm ownership that is always occurring. A list of active farm businesses is maintained for statistical purposes and the table below contains information on total farm numbers at 1st June, with the change in number since the previous year.

Total and Annual Change in Farm Business Numbers 2011-2015

Source: DARD, The Agricultural and Horticultural Census.

CAFRE is working with dairy farmers through dedicated education and training programmes, as well as benchmarking, to help improve efficiency and embed greater resilience to market volatility within farm businesses.