Balance -15%
(+8 on previous reading)
The Bank of Ireland Agri Pulse for August 2020 found farming sentiment to be relatively subdued. Market disturbance related to COVID-19 along with drought and storm conditions have impacted production and profitability is an issue for many.
Compared with April – when the survey was last carried out – farmers were more optimistic about the outlook for market prices however. Investment plans and growth ambitions ticked up a notch in August too, albeit the UK’s departure from the EU and climate change mitigation actions will pose structural challenges for the sector going forward.