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Chapter 2: Key Results and Overview Across England

Updated 20 December 2024

Applies to England

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← Chapter 1: Key Events

Key results

Figures are for March to February years, with the most recent year shown ending on 29 February 2024. This covers the 2023 harvest and includes the Basic Payment due in the 2023/24 accounting year.

• In 2023/24, average Farm Business Income was lower for all farm types except for specialist pig farms and specialist poultry farms. The fall in income followed exceptional highs for some farm types in 2022/23. Lower prices for key outputs such as wheat and milk were the main drivers of the decrease in income. Lower output prices were also compounded by rises for some input costs.
• For cereal farms, following two years of exceptional highs, Farm Business Income fell by 73% to £39,400. For general cropping farms average income was 24% lower at £95,300. A combination of lower output prices and yields were a key factor for both farm types.
• On dairy farms, following two very strong years for the sector, average Farm Business Income was 68% lower at £70,900 with a fall in the farmgate price of milk the primary driver.
• On lowland grazing livestock farms, average Farm Business Income fell by nearly a quarter to £17,300 driven by lower output from crops and sheep enterprises. For grazing livestock farms in Less Favoured Areas higher fixed costs were only partially offset by an increase in output, at £23,500 average income was 12% lower than 2022/23.
• Average Farm Business Income increased from £72,500 to £135,800 for specialist pig farms reflecting higher prices and throughput. On specialist poultry farms Farm Business Income rose by nearly a quarter to £143,600, with higher output from egg enterprises the main driver.
• In 2023/24, the third year of progressive reduction to the Basic Payment, the average net payment received across all farm types was approximately £18,300. This was 21% lower than 2022/23 and accounted for around 40% of Farm Business Income.
• Across all farms, net income from agri-environment activities increased by an average of 14% to £10,600.
• 71% of farm businesses in England had some diversified activity in 2023/24. The most popular activity was letting out buildings for non-agricultural use with 50% of farms in England engaging in this. With an uptake of 27% of farms, generating solar energy was the second most common diversified activity.

Overview of farms in England

Where table numbers are referred to in the text, these can be found within the dataset spreadsheet at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-accounts-in-england-data-sets

At an England all farm level, average Farm Business Income (FBI) in 2023/24 was £45,300, a decrease of 53% compared to 2022/23. The all farm FBI does however mask considerable variation between farm types (Figure 2.1) and should also be considered in the context of longer term trends. A full time series can be found in Dataset table 1.1.

2023/24 saw markets readjust and adapt following the volatility caused by the war in Ukraine. For commodities such as wheat, this meant that prices returned to around the level seen in 2021/22. This was compounded by both lower yields and average area of wheat in 2023/24. Other cereals and oilseed rape also experienced reduced yields and lower prices. Whilst some crops, such as potatoes and sugar beet, saw substantial increases in output which partially mitigated the falls for other crop enterprises, at the all farm level average crop output was 16% lower compared to 2022/23. This impacted not only cropping farms but also most livestock farm types growing crops.

Output from livestock was 4% lower at the all farm level, but as with crops there was variation across enterprises and farm types. For all farms in England with dairy enterprises (not just those who are specialist dairy farms) the decrease in output was largely the result of the lower farmgate milk price. This began to fall at the start of 2023 as markets readjusted after the price volatility of 2022 (linked to input prices which were impacted by the war in Ukraine). For farms with sheep enterprises, fewer animals sold and lower stocking rates led to a fall in output despite market prices remaining firm. Compared to 2022/23, output from cattle enterprises saw little change at the all farm level.

Output rose for both pig and egg enterprises (a key factor increasing FBI for the specialist pig and specialist poultry farm types). Average pig prices were higher than 2022/23 while the price of eggs increased by around a fifth at the all farm level.

While costs increased in 2023/24 it was to a lesser extent than 2022/23. At the all farm level, fertilisers were the variable cost that experienced the highest value increase, rising by nearly a quarter, although this was partially offset by a fall in animal feed costs. For fixed costs, the largest increases were general farming costs, interest payments and land and property costs. Not all farm types experienced cost increases, or the same level of cost rises. On general cropping farms input costs fell, which helped mitigate their lower output. On specialist pig farms higher output was enough to offset increased input costs.

In 2023, the third year of progressive reduction to the Basic Payment, a 35% reduction was applied to the first £30,000 of the payment with larger incremental deductions on the bigger payment bands. The average Basic Payment for farm businesses in England was £18,300 which equated to around 40% of the average FBI and was a fall of 21% compared to 2022/23. There is considerable variation in the importance of the payment across individual farm types with cereal, grazing livestock and mixed farms most reliant on the payments in 2023/24.

In 2023/24, agri-environment payments increased by 14% at the all farm level, although for general cropping and horticulture farms there was a decrease in the return on agri-environment activities. A more detailed analysis of the changes to the Basic Payment and agri-environment payments will be published on 20 February 2025.

Figure 2.1 shows average FBI by farm type together with 95% confidence intervals. These show the range of values that may apply to the figures. Further details on accuracy or results can be found in the Survey Details and Technical Notes section.

Figure 2.1 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) by farm type, with 95% confidence intervals, in England, 2022/23 and 2023/24

Source: Dataset table 1.1

Figure notes:
1. The legend is presented in the same order as the bars.
2. The sample sizes for specialist pig and poultry farms are relatively small, with average incomes subject to greater variation.
3. 95% Confidence Intervals have been presented to show the range where the true value is likely to lie and provides an indication of the degree of uncertainty of the estimate.

Figures 2.1 and 2.2 show that FBI varies both between and within farm types. The variation in incomes within farm types reflects a number of factors such as farm size, location and soil type. Some farm types also undertake a diverse range of agricultural activities. For example, horticulture includes specialist glasshouse farms, specialist fruit, specialist hardy nursery stock and market garden vegetable producers who may experience large differences in their production costs and outputs.

Figure 2.2 shows the considerable variability in incomes at the farm level, both between and within farm types. In 2023/24, 30% of farms failed to make a profit (compared to 17% of farms in 2022/23). However, the proportion was higher for some types, such as cereals, lowland grazing livestock, mixed and horticulture. At 52% of farms, specialist pigs and specialist poultry had the largest proportion of farm businesses with an income of more than £100,000, while grazing livestock farms (both lowland and LFA) and horticulture farm businesses had the lowest proportion.

Figure 2.2 Distribution of Farm Business Income by farm type in England, 2023/24

Source: Dataset table 8

Figure notes:
1. The legend is presented in the same order as the bars.
2. Due to small sample sizes, some categories have been merged for specialist pig farms; the categories are ‘Less than £0k to £49.9k’, ‘£50 to £99.9k’ and ‘£100k and over’.
3. Due to small sample sizes, some categories have been merged for horticulture farms; the categories are ‘Less than £0k’, ‘£0 to £24.9k’, ‘£25k to £49.9k’, ‘£50 to £99.9k’ and ‘£100k and over’.
4. Where the value is less than 5%, the label is not shown on the chart.
5. The sample sizes for specialist pig and poultry farms are relatively small with average incomes subject to greater variation.

Chapter 3: Cropping Farms →