Accredited official statistics

Chapter 1: Key events

Updated 22 July 2024

Government and policy

On the 5 January 2023 at the Oxford Farming Conference, Defra announced increased payments for the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship, as well as a new Sustainable Farming Incentive Management Payment of up to £1000 a year.

On the 26 January, Defra published further information on the growth and rollout of our environmental land management schemes. This included the full range of actions, payment rates and when they’ll be available.  

On the 31 January, the third round of the Research Starter competition opened. Farmers, growers, and foresters in England were able to apply for a share of £850,000 to improve productivity, sustainability, and resilience. 

Defra began to rollout the Annual Health and Welfare Review on the 7 February, offering a funded annual visit from a vet or team of vets to livestock farmers.   

Applications opened for the Large Research and Development (R&D) Partnerships fund on the 20 February, with applicants able to apply for a share of £8 million to improve productivity, sustainability, and resilience. 

On the 21 February at the National Farmers Union conference, Defra announced that more than £168 million in grants would be available to farmers to drive innovation, support food production, improve animal health and welfare, and protect the environment. 

On 27 March, Defra published the Green Finance Strategy and Nature Markets Framework which set out a range of private sector opportunities for farmers and land managers to access new income streams to invest in their holdings. 

The Net Zero Growth Plan was published a few days later, which set out how government plans to meet net zero while supporting economic growth and prosperity in the UK.  

On 19 April, applications opened for a Water Management Grant which was designed to help improve farm productivity through more efficient use of water for irrigation. The minimum grant is £35,000, with a maximum grant available of £500,000 per applicant per funding round.  

On the 14 May at the Farm to Fork Summit, a range of measures were announced including:

• A further £12.5 million for research projects that will support environmental sustainability and resilience on farms.
• Additional investment of up to around £30 million to unlock the potential of precision breeding.
• A working group to bring plant breeders, food manufacturers and retailers together to agree an approach that enables these products to reach our shelves.

On 18 May applications opened for the second round of Landscape Recovery projects which funds long-term, large-scale, bespoke projects designed to enhance the natural environment and deliver significant environmental benefits. 

Then on the 24 May, Defra published its response to the Rock Review which outlined how Defra have been incorporating its recommendations into its work and reforms as they continue to be rolled out.

Following this, Defra announced an improved offer for upland farmers, including making payment rates in Countryside Stewardship equal for both upland and lowland farms when carrying out the same actions. 

On 31 May, the Farming Futures competition opened offering a share of £12.5 million to fund ambitious research and development projects that support productivity and sustainability in the sector.

On 24 July, the Farming Innovation Investor Partnership competition opened, where businesses in the UK were able to apply for a share of £5 million to develop new technology to make farming more efficient and sustainable in the UK.

On 14 August, the Small R&D Partnership Projects competition opened. This competition offered up to £9.8 million in grant funding to support projects to develop solutions which improved productivity, sustainability, and resilience in farming.

The Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant opened on 7 September. Grants of between £15,000 and £500,000 were available for farmers to receive co-funding on infrastructure projects to continually improve the health and welfare of animals.

Defra began accepting the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) applications on the 18 September. The scheme paid farmers for actions that support food production and help improve farm productivity and resilience, while also protecting and improving the environment. A total of 23 actions were on offer.

Also on this date, the Feasibility Studies competition opened. Through this competition, a share of up to £4.5 million of grant funding was available to support projects investigating new solutions that address major on-farm or immediate post farmgate challenges or opportunities.

On 21 November, Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant opened. In this round, £74 million of funding was made available. This grant supported farmers to replace, build additional, or expand existing slurry stores to help improve the use of organic nutrients on farms and reduce pollution.

On 30 November, Defra provided more details of how the £168 million budget allocated to grants was being distributed through sixteen different funds.

On 11 December it was announced that individual grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 would be available to farmers and farm groups through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF). The grant aims to support innovative projects that align with the Environmental Improvement Plan.

On the 13 December, Defra announced the Smaller Abattoirs fund, where smaller abattoirs in England were able to apply for capital grants through a £4 million fund designed to boost the sector.

Lastly, a review to improve fairness in the fresh produce supply chain was launched by the government on the 14 December.

Key contextual factors

Global events

Ukraine war

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had a significant impact on input prices including energy and fertilisers, which producers carried over into 2023. Output prices for cereals and dairy stabilized from the highs of 2022 to pre-conflict levels, whereas livestock prices increased through 2023 as cereal feed costs reduced.

Labour shortages

In June 2023, Defra published the findings from the Independent Labour Review. The review provided recommendations to help the government and industry continue to tackle the issues related to labour shortages in the food supply chain.

High inflation

Inflation remained high in 2023, leading to several increases in the Bank of England base rates. High levels of inflation reduce profits and erodes the real terms value of direct support (BPS + agri-environmental payments). This also creates upward pressure on wages to help mitigate the impacts of inflation on workers. The consumer price inflation for food, which began rising in mid-2021, continued to increase, peaking in March 2023 at 19.1%, the highest rate seen in over 45 years. Following this peak, it declined steadily, ending the year at 8.0%. This was still much higher than the general inflation rate, which was 4.0%.

Exchange rates

The relationship between the pound and euro has a key bearing on the fortunes of UK farming, as most UK exports of agricultural commodities are made to the Eurozone. A weaker pound increases the competitiveness of UK exports but increases the price of imports, including inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides. The pound substantially weakened against the euro in 2016 and has remained relatively stable since. In 2023, the pound strengthened against the euro in late spring and early summer, then weakened in October and November before recovering in December.

Weather

Overall, 2023 was a very warm and wet year. For the UK, it was the second warmest year since records began in 1884, and the warmest year for both Wales and Northern Ireland. There was more rainfall than average this year, with some parts of the UK recording a third more rainfall than normal.

Winter

The winter was marginally milder and drier than average, but alternated between cold, settled spells and milder, wetter weather. January was sunnier than usual, with most of the rainfall coming in the first half of the month. Most of February was mild, dry and settled, placing it in within the top ten mildest Februarys since 1884.

Spring

Spring saw slightly above average temperatures mainly due to warm conditions during May. March and April alternated between colder and milder weather, with a notable cold spell in early March. In March, many areas in the southern half of the UK had more than double their average rainfall. April had near-average temperatures and rainfall. May was very dry in some areas and very wet in others, but overall saw only 55% of average overall rainfall.

Summer

Summer was warm and wet, with most of the fine weather occurring in June, the UK’s warmest June on record. July was very cool, dull and wet, with more than twice the normal rainfall in some areas. August was mixed with some wet and windy weather. Overall summer temperatures were well above average, reaching a maximum of 32.2°C. Of the UK’s top-ten warmest summers, summer 2023 was the wettest with some areas receiving more than 150% of average rainfall.

Autumn

Autumn 2023 was warmer and wetter than average. Four named storms resulted in significant and widespread weather impacts, particularly from flooding. A heatwave in early September gave us the UK’s highest temperature of the year (33.5°C at Faversham, Kent), making it the UK’s equal-warmest September on record (with 2006). Despite some warm weather, October was an unsettled and very wet month, with many areas receiving over twice the monthly average rainfall. After a very wet first half, November overall was unremarkable with some cold wintry weather.

December had some very hard frosts (-12.5°C at Altnaharra, Sutherland), but was overall mild through most of the month, ending with heavy rains.

Animal Health

In 2023 Defra introduced the Annual Health and Welfare Review. The Review offers farmers funding for an annual visit from a vet of their choice. Vets will carry out diagnostic testing and provide bespoke advice on management to improve the health, welfare, and biosecurity of animals, including the responsible use of medicines such as antibiotics. The Review is for farmers who keep cattle, sheep and pigs, and is the farmer’s first step on the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.  As of 31 December 2023, 4,103 farmers have applied to participate, allowing them to access bespoke advice on the health and welfare of their animals alongside testing for priority diseases and conditions. Of those, 1,614 farmers have completed the process and received their funding.

Avian influenza

In the 2023 calendar year, there were 1021 incidents of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in the UK. The majority of cases were in wild birds (963), with 38 cases in farmed birds, 17 in smallholder establishments, and 3 in captive birds in zoos or wildlife centres. In England there were 536 cases of HPAI H5N1 in wild birds, 20 in commercial poultry, 5 in smallholder establishments and 1 in other captive birds. Scotland reported 280 cases of H5N1 in wild birds, 15 in commercial poultry, 10 in smallholder establishments and 2 in captive birds. In Wales there were 90 cases of H5NI in wild birds, 3 in commercial poultry and 2 in smallholder establishments.  In Northern Ireland there were 24 cases of H5N1 in wild birds. In addition, there were 33 wild birds with no country attributed to them.

Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB)

England

The percentage of herds Officially TB Free in England was 95.75% at the end of 2023, a slight increase on 2022. There has been an upward trend since Q1 2018 when 93.6% of herds were TB free. Government strategy is driving for TB eradication by 2038. See the full set of the 2023 Accredited Official Statistics for TB in cattle in GB.  

The Bovine TB Partnership in England met six times in 2023 to continue the shared ownership, co-ordination and decision-making surrounding England’s 25-year bTB eradication strategy. 

The second phase of field trials for a new cattle TB vaccine and companion skin test (DIVA - Detect Infected among Vaccinated Animals) was completed in 2023. A third phase is planned to commence in 2024. If trials are successful, we will move closer to being able to vaccinate cattle against bTB.

In England, a total of 3,064 badgers were vaccinated against TB in 2023, an increase of 26% from the 2,434 badgers vaccinated in 2022. Further refinements were made to the badger vaccination smartphone reporting app that was first launched in 2022, reducing the administrative burden. 

A Defra-funded project in East Sussex that supports the farming community to deploy badger vaccination, completed its third year in 2023, with 634 badgers vaccinated over 256 km². 

In 2023, Natural England (NE) authorised culling operations to resume to 29 intensive control areas (no new areas were licensed). A total of 11,350 badgers were culled under these licences. NE also licensed 11 new supplementary badger control areas, bringing the total number of authorised areas of this type to 29. In 2023, a total of 8,220 badgers were culled under these licences. 

In August 2023, post-movement TB testing became compulsory for cattle moved to annual surveillance testing parts of the Edge Area from higher TB incidence areas of England, and from Wales.

Wales

In the 12 months to December 2023, the number of new TB incidents across Wales increased to 618, up from 601 in the previous year, representing a 2.8% rise. This is largely attributed to the High TB Area West, where new incidents have jumped from 186 to 294, a 58.1% increase. In the Low TB Area, new incidents also rose, from 31 in 2022 to 34 in 2023. The increase in the High TB Area West is particularly concerning given the already high levels of the disease in the region and is a reversal of the decreasing trend observed in recent years.

There have been reductions in new incidents in the Intermediate TB Area North, Mid, and High TB Area East. Notably, new incidents in the Intermediate TB Area North dropped from 133 to 70, representing a 47.4% decrease. A short-term measure, additional blood testing (gamma interferon and IDEXX antibody tests) of “higher risk” purchased animals in Officially TB Free herds, ran from June 2021 to 27 January 2023 (with some animals sampled and tested after this date). This measure targeted specified Spatial Units in North Wales only, as part of a number of interventions introduced from June 2021 aimed at combatting a worsening TB situation. This short-term measure disclosed relatively high numbers of new incidents during that period, above that which would normally have been expected.

In the Low TB Area, epidemiological investigations in Anglesey indicated that infection from the Denbigh/Conwy area had spread into the Low TB Area and contributed to the rising disease levels, with incidents increasing from 4 in 2020, 12 in 2021 and rising to 19 for 2023. In September 2023, cattle keepers in this area were notified via letter about the situation and were given advice on protecting their livestock. In the fourth quarter of 2023, no new incidents were recorded on Anglesey.

The All Wales Badger Found Dead Survey which started in September 2014, has indicated that the badger population in Anglesey is generally limited to Holy Island with only one dead badger found so far on the main island of Anglesey in 2018. In March 2023, a survey on Holy Island evaluated badger activity, finding enough activity to warrant a four-year badger vaccination program that began in 2023. To date no badger samples from Anglesey have yielded a TB culture positive result.

A new five-year Delivery Plan was introduced in March 2023 under the guidance of the Chief Veterinary Officer. This plan incorporates the 2021 to 2022 consultation on a refreshed TB Eradication Programme, recommendations from the Task and Finish Group on Farmer Engagement, and the Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on bovine TB.

Scotland

Scotland continues to have a low and stable incidence of bovine tuberculosis, in line with the requirements for Officially TB Free status. In 2023, bovine tuberculosis legislation in Scotland was amended and consolidated, and The Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 2023 came into force on 18 May 2023. This Order brought in place a number of policy changes, which included stricter pre-movement testing requirements for animals entering Scotland (including changing the period the pre-movement test is valid for from 60 days to 30 days), a reduction in compensation for cattle which are presented as unclean at slaughter, and a reduction in compensation for animals affected or suspected of being affected with TB which have not been properly isolated. The general licence for the importation of cattle from Northern Ireland was also amended and a new version was published on gov.scot in June 2023.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, herd incidence for 2023 was 10.05% with animal incidence standing at 0.988%. Herd incidence fell a little over the past year (from 10.20% in 2022), however animal incidence rose (from 0.934%).  Disease rates remain at their highest in Northern Ireland since the aftermath of the Foot and Mouth Disease which disrupted the bTB programme in the early 2000s. 

This poor disease picture, along with an increase in cattle prices, has seen an increase in the cost of delivering the Northern Ireland bTB programme.  Compensation costs for cattle slaughtered for bTB control have risen to around £37 million in the past two years. In September 2023, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland instructed the department to consult on a proposal to reduce compensation paid from 100% of the cattle’s market value at present, to 90% of market value in year one, and to 75% of market value in year 2. 

During 2023, work has progressed on the implementation of the new bTB Eradication Strategy for Northern Ireland which was launched in March 2022. The Strategy is the product of several years’ work, including the 2016 recommendations of the TB Strategic Partnership Group and two subsequent public consultations. 

However, the Strategy’s proposed wildlife intervention was overturned by a judicial review decision in October 2023 following a legal challenge from two environmental groups.

Note: More information on Bovine Tuberculosis can be found at the TB hub