Agricultural land use in England at 1 June 2024
Updated 26 September 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agricultural-land-use-in-england/agricultural-land-use-in-england-at-1-june-2024
This release contains the estimates of crop areas, land use and land ownership on commercial agricultural holdings in England on 1 June 2024 from the June Survey of Agriculture. Cereal and oilseed areas were published on 29 August. They are included here for completeness and remain unchanged.
Three new questions were introduced to the survey this year to gather information on how land use is changing. First estimates are now available on the area of arable land used for environmental benefit but not in production and the area of agricultural land used for solar panels (including and excluding land also used for grazing or production).
All results tables are available in the datasets at
Agricultural land use in England at 1 June
Agricultural land ownership and tenure structure in England at 1 June
Key points
Agricultural land use
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The utilised agricultural area (UAA) is 8.7 million hectares in 2024, a 1.0% decrease since 2023 and accounts for 67% of the total area of England.
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The total croppable area accounts for just over half (57%) of UAA whilst permanent grassland accounts for an additional 38%.
Crops
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The total area of arable crops saw a 6.4% decrease between 2023 and 2024, falling to 3.5 million hectares. This was primarily due to flooding and difficult weather conditions which resulted in failed crops and a partial switch to spring plantings.
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The area of uncropped arable land increased by 107% to 581 thousand hectares. Of this area, 276 thousand hectares were left as bare fallow and the remaining 305 thousand hectares were used for environmental benefit.
- The area of wheat decreased by 11% to 1.4 million hectares, whilst barley increased by 6.2% to 849 thousand hectares.
- The area of oilseed crops decreased by 26% to 274 thousand hectares in 2024. Oilseed rape accounts for 91% of this area and fell by 27% to 250 thousand hectares in 2024.
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Potatoes increased by 1.2%, rising to 83 thousand hectares in 2024.
- The area of horticultural crops covers 113 thousand hectares of land, a decrease of 3.2% compared to 2023.
Land ownership
- The area of agricultural land owned in England decreased by 1.0% to 6.1 million hectares in 2024. Land rented in for a year or more remained at 2.9 million hectares.
Section 1 Detailed results
1.1 Utilised agricultural area
The utilised agricultural area in England is 8.7 million hectares in 2024 and accounts for 67% of the total England area. This area includes all arable and horticultural crops, uncropped arable land including bare fallow and arable land used for environmental benefit, land used for outdoor pigs, temporary and permanent grassland and common rough grazing (Figure1).
Figure 1 - Agricultural land use areas in England at 1 June
(a) From 2024 uncropped arable land was collected as two separate categories: bare fallow and arable land used for environmental benefit but not in production. Areas for both are available in the agricultural land use dataset that accompanies this publication.
The amount of land used for solar panels was collected separately for the first time in 2024 via two categories to differentiate between land used only for solar and that also used for grazing or agricultural production. The data only covers land use and therefore excludes rooftop panels.
Land used for solar panels and also grazed or used for agricultural production covered 3.6 thousand hectares in 2024 and is included in the permanent grassland area. Solar panels on land not used for agricultural production accounted for 3.7 thousand hectares and is included in the other land on agriculture holdings area (Figure 1). Detailed breakdowns are available in the accompanying dataset.
1.2 Croppable area
The area of land available for cropping increased by 1.6% to 5.0 million hectares and accounts for 57% of UAA. The croppable area consists of cereals, oilseeds, potatoes, other arable crops, horticultural crops, uncropped arable land and temporary grassland.
Figure 2 shows that in the years prior to 2024, the proportion of croppable land used for each purpose remained similar; however, in 2024 some categories did see changes. In particular, cereal and oilseed crops saw decreases in area as a result of bad weather causing difficult planting conditions. Consequently, the area of uncropped arable land increased by 107% to 581 thousand hectares. Of this area, 276 thousand hectares were left as bare fallow and the remaining 305 thousand hectares were used for environmental benefit.
This additional detail about uncropped arable land was collected for the first time in 2024 to give more insight into how the land is used. Arable land used for environmental benefit but not in production includes pollen and nectar flower mixes, winter bird food, buffer strips on arable land, flower rich margins and in field strips. This area would previously have been recorded as uncropped arable land along with bare fallow as a single item.
Figure 2 - Total croppable area in England at 1 June
| Year | Cereals | Oilseeds | Temporary grass | Other arable crops | Uncropped arable land (a) | Horticulture | Potatoes | Total croppable area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 52% | 8% | 15% | 13% | 7% | 3% | 2% | 100% |
| 2021 | 55% | 6% | 16% | 13% | 5% | 3% | 2% | 100% |
| 2022 | 54% | 7% | 16% | 13% | 5% | 3% | 2% | 100% |
| 2023 | 52% | 8% | 16% | 14% | 6% | 2% | 2% | 100% |
| 2024 | 49% | 6% | 17% | 13% | 12% | 2% | 2% | 100% |
(a) From 2024 uncropped arable land was collected as two separate categories: bare fallow and arable land used for environmental benefit but not in production. Areas for both are available in the agricultural land use dataset that accompanies this publication.
1.3 Arable crops
The total area of arable crops saw a 6.4% decrease between 2023 and 2024, falling to 3.5 million hectares. This was largely due to a decrease in the cereals area, which accounts for 71% of arable crops. Difficult weather conditions in the autumn and restricted opportunities for spring drilling affected cereal plantings and led to the decreased area.
The wheat area decreased by 11% to 1.4 million hectares in 2024. This is the lowest wheat area since 2020 when crop plantings were last affected by very wet weather in the autumn. Barley increased by 6.2%, from 799 thousand hectares in 2023 to 849 thousand hectares in 2024. A 17% decrease in winter sown barley was more than offset by a 28% increase in spring sown area as a result of a partial switch to spring planting (Figure 3).
The total area of oilseed rape decreased by 27%, from 342 thousand hectares in 2023 to 250 thousand hectares in 2024. This was due to a 28% fall in winter sown oilseed rape, which accounts for 98% of the total oilseed rape area.
For more detailed information please go to the full Cereal and oilseed areas in England release.
Figure 3 - Area of wheat, barley and oilseed rape in England at 1 June (thousand hectares)
| year | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| wheat | 1,668 | 1,580 | 1,402 |
| barley | 782 | 799 | 849 |
| oilseed rape | 323 | 342 | 250 |
The total potato area increased by 1.2% to 83 thousand hectares in 2024, the first increase in area since 2019. This rise was driven by a 7.2% increase in early crop potatoes, with the area of main crop potatoes remaining stable.
Other arable crops covered 648 thousand hectares in 2024, a decrease of 3.4% since 2023. Field beans saw the largest area change, decreasing by 37% to 132 thousand hectares. Maize accounts for over a third of the other arable crops area and increased by 8.8% to 237 thousand hectares in 2024.
1.4 Horticultural crops
Horticultural crops covered 113 thousand hectares in June 2024, falling by 3.2% since 2023. This area is mostly used to grow fruit and vegetables, which covers 90% of the total horticultural area.
The total area of orchards and small fruit decreased by 5.0% between 2023 and 2024 to 28 thousand hectares, with orchards covering 18 thousand hectares in 2024 and small fruit grown on the remaining 10 thousand hectares. Figure 4 shows the breakdown of small fruit areas and highlights the increase in area used to grow wine grapes seen in recent years.
Figure 4 - Breakdown of small fruit areas in England at 1 June
| Year | Strawberries | Blackcurrants | Wine grapes | Raspberries | Other small fruit | Total small fruit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 27% | 23% | 26% | 13% | 11% | 100% |
| 2021 | 26% | 24% | 29% | 11% | 10% | 100% |
| 2022 | 22% | 23% | 32% | 12% | 11% | 100% |
| 2023 | 21% | 21% | 36% | 10% | 12% | 100% |
| 2024 | 19% | 22% | 37% | 9% | 12% | 100% |
The area used to grow vegetables and salad for human consumption decreased by 5.2%, to 73 thousand hectares in 2024. This was largely due to lower areas of carrots, onions and other vegetables and salad. Carrots saw the largest proportional decrease, falling by 27% as a result of difficult weather conditions (Figure 5).
Figure 5 - Breakdown of vegetable and salad areas in England at 1 June
| Year | Vining peas for processing | Other peas and beans | Carrots | Onions | Culinary plants for human consumption (incl. herbs) | All other vegetables and salad | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 28% | 3% | 7% | 14% | 4% | 44% | 100% |
| 2021 | 33% | 3% | 6% | 12% | 5% | 41% | 100% |
| 2022 | 34% | 3% | 7% | 16% | 4% | 36% | 100% |
| 2023 | 34% | 3% | 7% | 16% | 4% | 36% | 100% |
| 2024 | 36% | 3% | 5% | 15% | 6% | 35% | 100% |
1.5 Land ownership
The total area of land owned in 2024 was 6.1 million hectares, a decrease of 1.0% compared to 2023.
Land rented in for a year or more remained almost unchanged at 2.9 million hectares in 2024. Farm Business Tenancies account for 44% of this area and remained broadly stable at 1.3 million hectares. Land under Full Agricultural Tenancies has continued to decline, falling by 2.1% to 1.1 million hectares. Land covered by other agreements of a year or more increased by 1.1% in 2024 (Figure 6).
Figure 6 - Breakdown of area of land rented in for a year or more in England at 1 June (hectares)
| Rented land | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Agricultural Tenancy | 1,196,236 | 1,153,136 | 1,128,836 |
| Full Business Tenancy | 1,270,043 | 1,257,789 | 1,253,753 |
| Other agreement | 458,302 | 487,940 | 493,492 |
Section 2 About these statistics
2.1 Survey methodology
Full details of the survey methodology are available on the Structure of the agricultural industry guidance web page.
The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture has been run predominantly online since 2011, with an option for farmers to complete a paper form if they prefer. The survey is annual and samples around 30,000 holdings most years, with a full census run once a decade. The last census was run in 2021.
The June 2024 survey was sent to a sample of 56,000 commercial holdings and responses were received from 30,000 holdings, representing a response rate of 53%. This is a larger sample than usual which will enable us to provide detailed geographical breakdowns later in the year and help to understand changes currently happening within the farming sector, e.g. changes in land use following the introduction of ELM schemes. Commercial holdings are defined as those with more than five hectares of agricultural land, one hectare of orchards, 0.5 hectares of vegetables or 0.1 hectares of protected crops, or more than 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000 poultry.
Table 1 provides details of the sample survey population broken down by farm size. The size of a farm is determined by its Standard Labour Requirement (SLR) which is the typical number of full-time workers required on the holding based on its activity.
Table 1: June 2024 population size and sampling rate
| Stratum | Description | Sampling rate (%) | Population size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLR < 0.5 | 30% | 50,264 | |
| 2 | SLR >= 0.5 and < 1 | 51% | 15,271 | |
| 3 | SLR >= 1 and < 2 | 71% | 13,527 | |
| 4 | SLR >= 2 and < 3 | 80% | 6,773 | |
| 5 | SLR >= 3 and < 5 | 80% | 6,675 | |
| 6 | SLR >= 5 | 80% | 7,182 | |
| 10 | SLR unknown | 97% | 5,649 | |
| All | 52% | 105,341 |
For pig and poultry sectors, an additional data collection exercise was run to collect data from a central point for some of the largest companies. Cattle results are sourced from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS). The data include returns from all holdings with cattle so are not subject to survey error.
2.2 Changes to June Survey design
Three new questions were introduced to the survey this year to gather information on how land use is changing. First estimates are now available on the area of arable land used for environmental benefit but not in production and the area of agricultural land used for solar panels (including and excluding land also used for grazing or production).
Arable land used for environmental benefit but not in production includes pollen and nectar flower mixes, winter bird food, buffer strips on arable land, flower rich margins and in field strips. It would previously have been recorded as uncropped arable land along with bare fallow as a single item.
2.3 Data analysis
The data are subject to rigorous validation checks which identify inconsistencies within the data or large year-on-year changes. Any records that have not been cleaned by the results production stage are excluded from the analysis.
Population totals are estimated for each question on the survey to account for the non-sampled and non-responding holdings. This survey uses the technique known as ratio raising, in which the trend between the sample data and base data (previous year s data) is calculated for each stratum. The calculated ratio is then applied to the previous year s population data to give England level estimates. For holdings where we do not have base data (new holdings or long-term non-responders) the sample estimates are raised according to the inverse sampling fraction.
2.4 Confidence indicators
Confidence intervals and tick based indicators are shown alongside all of our estimated figures and can be found in the data tables within the dataset. These both help to show where there is more variability around results and highlight whether year-on-year changes are statistically significant or not. Whilst these are a useful indicator, they do not take into account any other sources of survey errors, such as non-response bias or administrative data errors.
2.5 Data notes
- All figures relate to commercial holdings.
- All percentage changes are based on unrounded figures.
- Totals may not necessarily agree with the sum of their components due to rounding.
- Proportional breakdown rounding may be adjusted to add up to 100%.
2.6 Data uses and users
Results from the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture have a wide range of uses and users with requests for data being made on a frequent basis. A document providing information of specific uses and users can be found on our guidance and notes.
2.7 Other survey results and publications
The next releases from the June Survey will be UK results and are expected to be in December. The definitive publication date will be announced on the research and statistics webpage on gov.uk.
More detailed results from the June Survey can be found on our Structure of the agricultural industry in England and the UK at June web page. This includes various time series of crop areas and livestock numbers dating back as early as 1866 and detailed geographical breakdowns of the results.
2.8 Feedback
We welcome feedback and any thoughts to improve the publication further. Please send any feedback to: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk.
Section 3 - What you need to know about this release
3.1 Contact details
Responsible statistician: Sarah Thompson
Team: Farming Statistics - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk
Tel: 0300 060 0170
3.2 Accredited official statistics
Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. An explanation can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation website.
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.
These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2014. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled accredited official statistics .
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards (see contact details). Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:
- Reviewed and amended the validation checks carried out on response data including validation against new administrative data sources to better assure ourselves of the quality of the statistics.
- Enhanced trustworthiness by removing pre-release access.