Working on-farm or off-farm? Household efficiency measurement of Ireland farm families

The reliance of farm households on non-farm income is an increasing phenomenon in Irish farming. This is a growing area of research but the effects of work change on the efficiency of differing strategies have rarely been examined. The main objective of the paper is to contribute to the research stream on farm household income strategies and farm efficiency. To satisfy this purpose, technical, allocative, and scale household efficiency (both on and off-the farm) are estimated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The DEA results and stochastic frontier results are then compared. The relationship between efficiency and various factors is estimated using Tobit or SUR system regressions. Because more and more farm households participate in off-farm work, this research will yield useful information for policymakers.