ABSTRACT
Farming contributes more to overall economic activity in Northern Ireland than in the United Kingdom as a whole, where less than 3 per cent of total civilian manpower is employed on farms. The small scale farms, in common with their larger neighbours, have mainly livestock enterprises. On the majority of small scale farms surveyed the farmers were the sole source of labour. Only 5 per cent of them were assisted full-time by resident male family members and 8 per cent by resident female family members. Although the stocking rate on the small scale farms was estimated to be equivalent to that found on larger beef and sheep farms, the amount of farm income which could be generated was very modest, given the limited land base. Part-time farming is sometimes viewed as a transitional stage with farmers combining farming and off-farm work as a temporary measure prior to either leaving the agricultural sector or becoming full-time farmers.
