62% of income received by farmers in Northern Ireland comes from the European Union.
This claim is accurate. The average payment received from the EU (£27,648) in 2016-17 represented 62.4% of total farm income (£44,305). This ratio fluctuates with market prices; it ranged between 52% and 71% during 2012-13 to 2016-17. [...] During the BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show on 5 February 2019, two guests debated the percentage of farmers’ income that is coming from Brussels. Jane Morris, former Head of the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland, said that more than 80% of farmers’ income in Northern Ireland is coming from EU cheques: "under the common agricultural policy for farmers … over 80% of their whole revenue monthly comes from the European Union" (16:19). Former UKIP Northern Ireland leader David McNarry counter-claimed "it is actually somewhere about 62%" (17:30). [...] DAERA annually publishes a statistical report on Northern Ireland farm incomes. These reports include average net farm incomes, as well as direct payments coming from the European Union (under the Basic Payment Scheme). In 2016-17, the average net income per farm was £16,387. The average additional payments received from the EU was £27,648 per farm. Thus, 62.4% of the total farm income (£44,305) came from EU payments. This substantiates McNarry’s statement.