Glossary Of Terms
Asset Values
- Livestock - The average of the opening and closing inventories.
- Machinery - Closing inventory value based on cost of replacement.
- Land and Buildings - Market value of the farm as estimated by the farmer
- Loans Closing Balance - The level of outstanding farm borrowing at the end of the year.
Area Owned - The total map area of land owned. It does not include area under commonage rights.
Cash Flow - Cash flow is defined as cash income minus net new investment. It does not include changes in borrowing.
Cash Income - Net sales and receipts minus current cash expenditure. It is the approximate cash element of family farm income.
Current Cash Expenditure - Expenditure on all current farm inputs, whether direct or overhead; excludes depreciation.
DACAS - Disadvantaged Area Compensatory Allowance Scheme introduced in 2001 to replace Headage Scheme and paid on a land area basis in Disadvantaged Areas only.
Demographically Viable % HH - Percentage of farm households which have at least one member below 45 years of age
Depreciation - Calculated at replacement cost declining balance method at 10% for machinery and 5% for buildings. The 1989 NFS report contains additional details on the methodology.
The Capital Goods Price Index Building and Construction (i.e Wages and Material), as published by the CSO, is used in the calculation of building depreciation in 2004 NFS Report. In 2004 the CSO discontinued the Agricultural Buildings Price Index (used by the National Farm Survey in calculating building depreciation since 1985) and replaced it with the Capital Goods Price Index, Buildings and Construction. This new index was used in calculating 2004 building depreciation. Also from 2004 onwards buildings and machinery, exceeding 25 and 20 years respectively, have been written off.
Direct Costs - Costs directly incurred in the production of a particular enterprise, e.g., fertilisers, seeds and feeding stuffs; most items are detailed in the main tables. See (d) section of tables for greater detail.
Direct Payments/Subsidies - Payments made to farmers by the Department of Agriculture under one or more of the CAP Schemes. These are shown in greater detail in the (c) section of the tables.
ESU - As an alternative to farm size measured by surface area (map area) the size of the farm business is measured in European Size Units (ESU), where 1 ESU = 1,200 Euro of Standard Gross Margin.
Family Farm Income - Gross output less total net expenses; it represents the total return to the family labour, management and capital investment in the farm business.
Fodder Crop Adjustment - The difference in value of the opening and closing inventories of fodder crops, valued at their direct costs of production. This accounting procedure allows the cost of fodder crops to be included in the year in which they were consumed, which is not necessarily the year in which they were produced.
Forage and Crop Area - The total adjusted area under grass (including rough grazing) and crops, plus adjusted commonage area.
Frequencies of Farms (%) - Frequency distribution tables are given for gross output, soil groups, costs as a per cent of output and for family farm income. These tables show the estimated per cent of farms in the population having various levels of the variables.
Full-Time Farm - A farm which requires at least 0.75 standard labour units to operate, as calculated on a standard man day basis.
Grants and Subsidies - (c) section of tables -Includes non-capital grants and subsidies which are non-specific to any particular enterprise.
Grassland - Sum of areas under silage, hay and pasture, of which:
Silage - Basic area of ground cut at least once for silage (no adjustments are made for land cut more than once or for grazing).
Hay - Basic area of ground cut at least once for hay (no adjustments are made for land cut more than once or for grazing).
Grazing Livestock Unit (LU) - A dairy cow is taken as the basic grazing livestock unit. All other grazing stock are given equivalents as follows:
Cattle
| Dairy cows | 1.0 |
| Suckling cows | 0.9 |
| Heifers-in-calf | 0.7 |
| Calves under 6 mths. | 0.2 |
| Calves 6-12 months | 0.4 |
| Cattle 1-2 years | 0.7 |
| Cattle over 2 years | 1.0 |
| Stock bulls | 1.0 |
Sheep
| Lowland | Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Ewes and rams | 0.20 | 0.14 |
| Lambs to weaning | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Lambs after weaning | 0.12 | 0.10 |
| Hoggets and wethers | 0.15 | 0.10 |
Horses
| Working horses | 1.5 |
| Others | 1.0 |
Deer
| >1yr | <1yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Red | 0.25 | 0.12 |
| Fallow | 0.13 | 0.07 |
| Sika | 0.08 | 0.04 |
Goats (All)
- 0.14
Gross Margin - Gross output minus direct costs.
Gross Output - Gross output for the farm is defined as total sales less purchases of livestock, plus value of farm produce used in the house, plus receipts for hire work, services, fees etc. It also includes net change in inventory, which in the case of cows, cattle and sheep is calculated as the change in numbers valued at closing inventory prices.
All non-capital grants, subsidies, premiums, headage payments etc., are included in gross output in this report. They are allocated to the enterprise in the year in which they are paid (see also “Grants and subsidies”). In this report Gross Output also includes income from land and quota let.
Hill Farms - Hill farms are defined as those located in areas where the predominant soil type is either Class 5 or 6(see Soil Group).
Household Size - Number of people in the farm household, including children, pensioners and family members not involved in farming.
Inter-Enterprise Transfers - This item is an adjustment to the sum of the gross outputs from the individual farm enterprises, where the output of one enterprise is used as an input to another on the same farm, e.g., milk fed to calves, or home grown barley fed to farm animals. It is merely an accounting device to avoid double counting in the calculation of the total gross output and direct costs of the farm.
Labour Costs - For farm accountancy purposes the costs of casual labour are included in direct costs while regular labour is included in overhead costs.
Labour Unit - (a) One labour unit is defined as at least 1800 hours worked on the farm by a person over 18 years of age. Persons under 18 years of age are given the following labour unit equivalents:
- 16 - 18 years: 0.75
- 14 - 16 years: 0.50
Note: An individual cannot exceed one labour unit even if he/she works more than 1800 hours on the farm.
Land/Quota Let - Receipts from land or quota let during the year.
Net New Investment - All capital expenditure during the year less capital sales and grants. The cost of major repairs to farm buildings, plant and machinery as well as land improvements is also included. It does not include investments in land purchases.
Net Sales and Receipts - Sales of animals and crops, plus non-capital grants and direct payments, less purchases of livestock.
Non-Objective One Region - Includes the counties: Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Dublin, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary N.R., Tipperary S.R., Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Kerry.
Objective One Region - Includes the counties: Louth, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon i.e. the Border, Midlands and Western Regions.
Off-Farm Job % HH - Percentage of households where the holder and/or spouse have an off-farm job.
Other Direct Costs - These include miscellaneous costs for crops e.g. polythene, baler twine, crop insurance; miscellaneous costs for livestock, e.g., mart commission, straw for bedding, super levy payments, farming organisation levies, Irish Dairy Board levy, research levies, disease eradication levies, bulk tank rental, detergents, etc.
Other Overhead Costs - Miscellaneous costs such as purchase of small tools, bank charges, subscriptions, postage, fire insurance, slurry, land annuities, depreciation of permanent crops, accountancy charges, advisory charges, water rates, protective clothing, etc.
Overhead Costs - Costs which cannot be directly allocated to a specific farm enterprise; sometimes referred to as fixed costs. Most items are detailed in the main tables. See (d) section of tables for greater detail.
Part-Time Farm - A farm which requires less than 0.75 standard labour units to operate, as calculated on a standard man day basis.
Pensioners % HH - Percentage of households where the holder and/or spouse are in receipt of a pension of any kind.
Per Cent of Population - These figures are estimates of the percentage of the population (of farms) that fall into individual categories. For example in Table 01a 0.6% of the population (of farms) are estimated to be Dairying farms with less than 10 UAA (Ha).
Remainder of Farm - Land covered by woods, areas not in agricultural use for economic, social or other reasons but which could be so used. It also includes ground covered by paths, roads, buildings or land which cannot be farmed, e.g., quarries, barren land, swamps, areas under water, etc.
REPS - Rural Environmental Protection Scheme
Rough Grazing - Grazed unreclaimable bogland, grazed mountain of known area and grazed lowland partially covered by scrub, bushes or rock. It does not include land with impeded drainage unless subject to flooding.
Soil Group 1 - Farms are classified into 3 major groups depending on their use range. Soil group 1 has the widest use range and soil group 3 contains farms with limited use range.
Standard Man Day (SMD) - Eight hours of work supplied by a person over 18 years of age. The number of SMD required per hectare for the different crops, and per head for various categories of livestock, is used to calculate the total number of SMD required to operate the farm.
System of Farming - See Appendices B and C
Total Area - Map area of land owned, plus land rented, minus land let. It is equal to UAA plus 'remainder of farm'.
Total Net Expenses - Direct costs plus overhead costs. Grants and discounts which reduce expenditure, rather than contribute to gross output, will have been deducted.
Unemployment etc. %HH - Percentageofhouseholds where the holder and/or spouse are in receipt of social assistance payment (other than pension).
Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) - Area under crops and pasture plus the area (unadjusted) of rough grazing. It is the total area owned, plus area rented, minus area let, minus area under remainder of farm.
