Official Statistics

Agricultural facts: Guidance note

Updated 31 October 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agricultural-facts-england-regional-profiles/agricultural-facts-england-regional-profiles-guidance-note

Overview

This statistical notice contains eight standalone agricultural factsheets for each of the International Territorial Level 1 (ITL1) regions of England, as well as a summary page. The ITL1 regions for Greater London and the South East have been combined in this statistical notice due to the fact that London has such a small farming infrastructure.

Data from Accredited Official Statistics sources have been used wherever possible to give headline information on agricultural activity in the regions. Information on where to get more detailed evidence is included below and throughout the publication.

Key facts cover:

  • Total Income from Farming
  • Total output
  • Farm types
  • Land areas and use
  • Crops
  • Livestock
  • Labour
  • Farm Business Income

Data sources

The data in the factsheets have been obtained from three Defra data sources: the Defra June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture, the Farm Business Survey, and the Regional Agricultural Accounts. Two of these sources are classified as “Accredited Official Statistics”. Accredited Official Statistics are produced to high professional standards and undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. All of the publications are free from any political interference.

Defra June Survey

The Defra June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture is a large sample survey sent to a representative sample of holdings across England. The data relate to commercial holdings which are holdings with significant levels of farming activity. These are holdings with land or livestock at or above any one of the following thresholds:

  • Five hectares of agricultural land
  • One hectare of orchards
  • 0.5 hectares of vegetables
  • 0.1 hectare of protected crops
  • 10 cows
  • 50 pigs
  • 20 sheep
  • 20 goats
  • 1,000 poultry.

Detailed annual statistics on the structure of the agricultural industry produced using the results of the June Survey of Agriculture are available on GOV.UK.

Farm Business Survey

The Farm Business Survey (FBS) is an annual survey providing information on the financial position and physical and economic performance of farm businesses in England.

The sample of farm businesses covers all regions of England and all types of farming with the data being collected by face to face interviews with farmers. Results are weighted to represent the full population of farm businesses that have at least 25 thousand Euros of standard output as recorded in the annual June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture. In 2022/23, the sample of 1,359 farms represented approximately 52,500 farm businesses in England.

The FBS measure used throughout this publication is Farm Business Income. In simple terms, Farm Business Income is the output generated by the farm business minus total farm costs. Please visit the Farm Business Income webpage on GOV.UK for further information on this measure.

Agricultural Accounts

Regional breakdowns for the England agricultural accounts are published annually in Total Income from Farming for the Regions of England. Total Income from Farming (TIFF) is revenue generated by production within the agriculture industry, including subsidies, and represents business profits and remuneration for work done by farm owners and other unpaid workers. The regional accounts estimates are produced by apportioning out each account item value for England using coefficients derived mainly from Farm Business Survey and June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture data. TIFF estimates are routinely revised based on data availability and revisions are backdated where appropriate. For more information on TIFF methodology or revisions, please visit the “Methodology” and “Revisions” sections of the Total Income from Farming for the Regions of England and Total Income from Farming in England publications.

Data uses and users

This publication has been produced in response to user requests for concise information on agricultural activity at a regional level in England. The publication is also available to download as individual pages for each region.

Next updates

This publication will be updated on an annual basis each Autumn. This timing ensures the data used in the publication are for the same reference year.

The definitive publication dates for each survey will be announced on the research and statistics webpage on GOV.UK.

What you need to know about this release

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You can read about how Official Statistics in Defra comply with these standards on the Defra Statistics website.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards using the contact details below. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Contact details

Responsible statistician: Thomas Pearson

Team: Farming Statistics - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Email: AUK_stats_team@defra.gov.uk

For media queries between 9am and 5pm on weekdays:

Telephone: 0330 041 6560

Email: newsdesk@defra.gov.uk

Back to top