Organic farming statistics 2023: England
Published 9 May 2024
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/organic-farming-statistics-2023/organic-farming-statistics-2023-england
This release presents final estimates of the land area farmed organically, crop areas, livestock numbers and numbers of organic producers and processors in England for 2023. An overview of organic farming in the UK is available here. The results are produced from data compiled by approved organic certification bodies. The total organic area referred to is made up of fully organic land and organic land in-conversion.
The data set for this release can be found on the organic farming statistics page.
1. Key findings for England
In 2023:
-
297 thousand hectares were farmed organically in England.
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The South West had the greatest share of organic land in England at 47%, the South East (incl. London) had the second largest at 15% and the West Midlands had the third largest at 11%.
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Permanent pasture (including rough grazing) accounted for 48% of organic land in England, covering 144 thousand hectares.
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15% of organic land in England was used to grow cereals (43 thousand hectares).
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4.2% of cattle in England were reared organically.
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There were a total of 3,882 organic operators in England.
2. Organic land area
2.1 Land area farmed organically
In 2023, England had a total area of 297 thousand hectares of land farmed organically, a decrease of 4.8% compared to 2022. The total area includes both the fully converted area and area under conversion.
Organic production comes from fully converted land, which is land that has undergone conversion to meet organic standards. In 2023, England had 279 thousand hectares of fully organic land. This represents a decrease of 4.6% from 2022.
Land in-conversion is discussed in detail in section 2.2.
Figure 1: Land area farmed organically in England (thousand hectares)
| Year | In-conversion | Fully organic | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 12.5 | 295.7 | 308.1 |
| 2015 | 10.0 | 293.7 | 303.7 |
| 2016 | 14.7 | 281.8 | 296.5 |
| 2017 | 19.8 | 280.5 | 300.3 |
| 2018 | 20.3 | 269.0 | 289.3 |
| 2019 | 19.0 | 281.6 | 300.6 |
| 2020 | 20.4 | 281.3 | 301.8 |
| 2021 | 25.8 | 285.4 | 311.2 |
| 2022 | 19.6 | 292.7 | 312.4 |
| 2023 | 18.3 | 279.1 | 297.5 |
Notes:
- Please note, the colours for the fully organic (turquoise) and in-conversion (dark blue) bars have reversed compared to the Organic Farming Statistics, 2022 stats notice.
Table 1: Area farmed organically by English region, 2023 (thousand hectares)
| Country | Area in-conversion | Fully organic area | Total organic area | Total area on agricultural holdings at June | Total organic area as % of June area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 18.3 | 279.1 | 297.5 | 8,999 | 3.3% |
| North East | 1.4 | 23.1 | 24.5 | 606 | 4.0% |
| North West | 0.8 | 11.3 | 12.1 | 941 | 1.3% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 0.8 | 10.3 | 11.1 | 1,125 | 1.0% |
| East Midlands | 2.9 | 12.1 | 15.0 | 1,172 | 1.3% |
| West Midlands | 1.8 | 30.9 | 32.7 | 912 | 3.6% |
| East of England | 0.9 | 17.8 | 18.8 | 1,397 | 1.3% |
| South East (incl. London) | 2.6 | 40.7 | 43.3 | 1,099 | 3.9% |
| South West | 7.1 | 132.9 | 139.9 | 1,746 | 8.0% |
Notes:
- Total land area on agricultural holdings at June. Excludes common land.
Source: June Survey of Agriculture as at 1 June 2023.
2.2 Land in-conversion
Before an area can be considered as fully organic, it must undergo a conversion process. In 2023, England had 18 thousand hectares of land in-conversion. This constitutes a decrease of 6.7% from 2022.
The area in-conversion expressed as a percentage of the total organic area can give an indication of the potential growth in the organic sector. In 2023, land in-conversion made up 6.2% of the total organic land in England. This was a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from 2022.
Figure 2: Land in-conversion as a proportion of the total area farmed organically in England
Download the data for this figure
Text description of Figure 2: Figure 2 shows the area of land in-conversion as a proportion of total land area farmed organically in England from 2002 to 2023. The percentage of land in-conversion in England peaked in 2002, with the lowest percentage occurring in 2015. Since 2021, the area of in-conversion land has fallen steadily year on year.
3. Organic land use
3.1 Organic land use
Permanent pasture (including rough grazing) accounts for the biggest share of the organic area in England (48%), followed by temporary pasture (25%) and cereals (15%). The full breakdown of organic land use in England is shown in figure 3 and tables 2 and 3.
Figure 3: Organic land use in England, 2023 (thousand hectares)
| Use | Area (thousand hectares) |
|---|---|
| Permanent pasture (incl. rough grazing) | 143.6 |
| Temporary pasture | 74.0 |
| Cereals | 43.2 |
| Woodland | 11.3 |
| Other arable crops | 9.3 |
| Vegetables (incl. potatoes) | 8.3 |
| Unutilised & unknown | 5.1 |
| Fruit & nuts | 2.1 |
| Herbaceous & ornamentals | 0.5 |
Notes:
- Some land areas are provided without a crop category or land use description, therefore these are classified as unknown.
Table 2: Organic land use in England, 2020 to 2023 (thousand hectares)
| Use | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Percentage change 2023/2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cereals | 36.4 | 39.9 | 42.7 | 43.2 | 1.2% |
| Other arable crops | 7.3 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 9.3 | 7.1% |
| Fruit & nuts | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | -1.9% |
| Vegetables (incl. potatoes) | 7.7 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.3 | -0.4% |
| Herbaceous & ornamentals | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | -20% |
| Temporary pasture | 77.6 | 79.4 | 77.4 | 74.0 | -4.4% |
| Permanent pasture (incl. rough grazing) | 153.3 | 154.5 | 155.5 | 143.6 | -7.6% |
| Woodland | 11.4 | 11.8 | 11.5 | 11.3 | -1.9% |
| Unutilised land | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 | -10% |
| Unknown | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.9 | -4.4% |
| Total | 301.8 | 311.2 | 312.4 | 297.5 | -4.8% |
Notes:
-
Includes fully organic land and land in-conversion.
-
Some land areas are provided without a crop category or land use description, therefore these are classified as unknown.
Table 3: Detailed fully organic and in-conversion land use in England, 2023 (thousand hectares)
| Use | Area in-conversion | Fully organic area | Total organic area | Total area on agricultural holdings at June | Total organic area as % of June area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cereals | 2.9 | 40.4 | 43.2 | 2,568 | 1.7% |
| Wheat | 1.6 | 16.7 | 18.2 | 1,580 | 1.2% |
| Barley | 0.6 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 799 | 0.6% |
| Oats | 0.3 | 13.3 | 13.6 | 134 | 10% |
| Other cereals | 0.3 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 55 | 11% |
| Other arable crops | 1.0 | 8.3 | 9.3 | 1,039 | 0.9% |
| Sugar beet | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 99 | 0.3% |
| Fodder, forage and silage | 0.8 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 57 | 14% |
| Maize, oilseeds & protein crops | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 883 | 0.1% |
| Fruit & nuts | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 29 | 7.4% |
| Vegetables | 0.5 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 77 | 9.1% |
| Potatoes | [low] | 1.2 | 1.3 | 82 | 1.5% |
| Herbaceous & ornamentals | [low] | 0.4 | 0.5 | 9 | 5.3% |
| Temporary pasture | 4.9 | 69.1 | 74.0 | 803 | 9.2% |
| Permanent pasture (excl. rough grazing) | 8.0 | 129.5 | 137.5 | 3,097 | 4.4% |
| Rough grazing | 0.1 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 440 | 1.4% |
| Woodland | 0.5 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 398 | 2.8% |
| Unutilised land | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | [x] | [x] |
| Unknown | 0.1 | 3.8 | 3.9 | [x] | [x] |
| Total | 18.3 | 279.1 | 297.5 | [x] | [x] |
Notes:
-
Total land area on agricultural holdings at June. Excludes common land.
-
Some land areas are provided without a crop category or land use description, therefore these are classified as unknown.
-
“[x]” indicates no comparable June survey data is available.
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“[low]” indicates a value that is greater than zero, but shows as zero due to rounding. See the accompanying dataset for the unrounded value.
Source: June Survey of Agriculture as at 1 June 2023.
3.2 Organic crops
The three main crop types grown organically are cereals, other arable crops and vegetables (including potatoes). In England the area of organically grown cereal crops increased by 1.2% to 43 thousand hectares in 2023. Other arable crops increased by 7.1% to 9.3 thousand hectares. The area of organically grown vegetables (including potatoes) decreased by 0.4% to 8.3 thousand hectares in 2023.
Figure 4: Organic crops in England
Notes:
- Includes fully organic land and land in-conversion.
Download the data for this figure
Text description of Figure 4: Figure 4 shows the area of land, in thousand hectares, used to organically farm cereals, other arable crops and vegetables (including potatoes) from 2002 to 2023. Cereals have the highest area of organic farming, which peaked in 2009. From this peak, the organic area used to farm cereals declined until 2018, since when it has increased steadily year on year. Other arable crops and vegetables (including potatoes) have had similar areas of organic farming throughout the time series. Other arable crops peaked in 2002 and vegetables peaked in 2008.
4. Organic livestock
Table 4: Detailed organic livestock numbers in England, 2023 (thousand head)
| Livestock | Total organic livestock | Total livestock at June | Organic livestock as % of June livestock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 212 | 5,082 | 4.2% |
| For slaughter | 92 | 1,850 | 4.9% |
| Dairy cows | 40 | 1,862 | 2.2% |
| Other cattle | 80 | 1,370 | 5.8% |
| Sheep | 295 | 14,451 | 2.0% |
| Breeding females | 164 | 6,956 | 2.4% |
| Other sheep | 131 | 7,495 | 1.7% |
| Pigs | 21 | 3,633 | 0.6% |
| Fattening pigs | 15 | 3,304 | 0.4% |
| Breeding sows | 2 | 257 | 0.7% |
| Other pigs | 4 | 72 | 6.2% |
| Poultry | 2,333 | 130,549 | 1.8% |
| Broilers | 919 | 91,096 | 1.0% |
| Laying hens | 1,346 | 23,007 | 5.9% |
| Other poultry | 68 | 16,446 | 0.4% |
| Other livestock | 5 | [x] | [x] |
| Farmed deer | 3 | 22 | 15% |
| Goats | 1 | 92 | 1.0% |
| Horses | 1 | 137 | 0.7% |
| Others | [low] | [x] | [x] |
Notes:
- Data relates to fully organic only.
- “Others” include camelids and any livestock not recorded elsewhere.
- “[x]” indicates no comparable June survey data is available.
- “[low]” indicates a value that is greater than zero, but shows as zero due to rounding. See the accompanying dataset for the unrounded value.
Source: June survey of agriculture as at 1 June 2023 and the Cattle Tracing System for cattle populations.
4.1 Organic cattle
In 2023, organically reared cattle numbers decreased by 2.6% to 212 thousand head. This represents 4.2% of the total herd in England.
Figure 5: Number of organic cattle in England (thousand head)
| Years | For slaughter | Dairy cows | Other cattle | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 66.2 | 66.4 | 86.7 | 219.3 |
| 2017 | 76.4 | 61.2 | 79.7 | 217.3 |
| 2018 | 81.3 | 70.1 | 89.2 | 240.6 |
| 2019 | 58.7 | 70.9 | 91.1 | 220.8 |
| 2020 | 83.5 | 47.8 | 89.1 | 220.4 |
| 2021 | 82.0 | 47.2 | 84.6 | 213.8 |
| 2022 | 84.3 | 44.8 | 88.1 | 217.1 |
| 2023 | 91.6 | 40.4 | 79.6 | 211.6 |
Notes:
- Data relates to fully organic only.
4.2 Organic sheep
The number of sheep reared organically decreased by 5.5% to 295 thousand head and accounted for 2.0% of the total flock in England.
Figure 6: Number of organic sheep in England (thousand head)
| Years | Breeding females | Other sheep | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 211.8 | 194.1 | 405.9 |
| 2017 | 227.5 | 193.8 | 421.2 |
| 2018 | 213.3 | 160.7 | 374.0 |
| 2019 | 179.4 | 171.2 | 350.6 |
| 2020 | 183.5 | 128.5 | 312.0 |
| 2021 | 179.1 | 120.7 | 299.8 |
| 2022 | 172.9 | 138.9 | 311.8 |
| 2023 | 164.1 | 130.6 | 294.6 |
Notes:
- Data relates to fully organic only.
4.3 Organic pigs
The number of pigs reared organically decreased by 20% to 21 thousand head and accounted for 0.6% of the total pig herd in England.
Figure 7: Number of organic pigs in England (thousand head)
| Years | Fattening pigs | Breeding sows | Other pigs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20.1 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 29.4 |
| 2017 | 23.8 | 5.0 | 8.4 | 37.2 |
| 2018 | 14.7 | 3.4 | 11.1 | 29.2 |
| 2019 | 19.1 | 3.0 | 8.6 | 30.6 |
| 2020 | 13.3 | 1.6 | 9.0 | 23.9 |
| 2021 | 14.7 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 23.7 |
| 2022 | 15.8 | 2.9 | 7.7 | 26.5 |
| 2023 | 14.9 | 1.9 | 4.5 | 21.2 |
Notes:
- Data relates to fully organic only.
4.4 Organic poultry
Organically reared poultry numbers increased by 3.0% to 2,333 thousand birds and accounted for 1.8% of the total population in England.
Figure 8: Number of organic poultry in England (thousand birds)
| Years | Broilers | Laying hens | Other poultry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 830 | 796 | 73 | 1,699 |
| 2017 | 1,033 | 912 | 57 | 2,002 |
| 2018 | 969 | 1,015 | 54 | 2,038 |
| 2019 | 911 | 1,104 | 57 | 2,072 |
| 2020 | 880 | 1,465 | 66 | 2,411 |
| 2021 | 1,074 | 1,412 | 64 | 2,550 |
| 2022 | 795 | 1,422 | 49 | 2,265 |
| 2023 | 919 | 1,346 | 68 | 2,333 |
Notes:
- Data relates to fully organic only.
5. Organic operators
In 2023, there were 3,882 producers and processors registered with the organic certification bodies in England, a decrease of 5.4% from 2022. A detailed breakdown of organic crop and livestock operators is available in the dataset accompanying this release.
Figure 9: Organic operators by type in England
| Years | Producers | Producers & Processors | Processors | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2,352 | 148 | 1,954 | 4,454 |
| 2015 | 2,336 | 145 | 2,098 | 4,579 |
| 2016 | 2,302 | 132 | 2,414 | 4,848 |
| 2017 | 2,335 | 124 | 2,578 | 5,037 |
| 2018 | 2,327 | 113 | 2,196 | 4,636 |
| 2019 | 2,354 | 99 | 2,174 | 4,627 |
| 2020 | 2,264 | 165 | 1,878 | 4,307 |
| 2021 | 2,269 | 175 | 1,852 | 4,296 |
| 2022 | 2,202 | 176 | 1,725 | 4,103 |
| 2023 | 2,133 | 174 | 1,575 | 3,882 |
Notes:
- Processors can include abattoirs, bakers, storers and wholesalers. The recorded location depends on the address registered with the Certifier Bodies and so larger businesses may be recorded at their headquarters.
- In 2018 work was carried out to clarify how operators were recorded. This resulted in a number of operators that were previously recorded as processors being recorded in the correct categories of wholesalers/traders/retailers etc. We were unable to backdate these changes so earlier data are not directly comparable.
- In 2020 work was carried out by some control bodies to group existing operators together, so they effectively became ‘one operator’ whilst previously they may have been separate operators with separate licences.
- Please note, the colours for Producers & Processors (turquoise) and Processors (purple) bars have reversed compared to the Organic Farming Statistics, 2022 stats notice.
Table 5: Number of organic operators by type and English region, 2023
| Region | Number of producers only | Number of producers and processors | Number of processors only | Total organic producers and processors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2,133 | 174 | 1,575 | 3,882 |
| North East | 77 | 4 | 28 | 109 |
| North West | 103 | 13 | 111 | 227 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 85 | 7 | 91 | 183 |
| East Midlands | 142 | 6 | 114 | 262 |
| West Midlands | 278 | 20 | 120 | 418 |
| East of England | 177 | 9 | 218 | 404 |
| South East (incl. London) | 336 | 42 | 618 | 996 |
| South West | 935 | 73 | 275 | 1,283 |
Notes:
- Processors can include abattoirs, bakers, storers and wholesalers. The recorded location depends on the address registered with the Certifier Bodies and so larger businesses may be recorded at their headquarters.
Table 6: Number of organic operators by English region, 2020 to 2023
| Region | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Percentage change 2023/2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 4,307 | 4,296 | 4,103 | 3,882 | -5.4% |
| North East | 117 | 118 | 112 | 109 | -2.7% |
| North West | 241 | 244 | 233 | 227 | -2.6% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 227 | 216 | 198 | 183 | -7.6% |
| East Midlands | 328 | 308 | 298 | 262 | -12% |
| West Midlands | 468 | 454 | 449 | 418 | -6.9% |
| East of England | 419 | 412 | 407 | 404 | -0.7% |
| South East (incl. London) | 1,092 | 1,143 | 1,042 | 996 | -4.4% |
| South West | 1,415 | 1,401 | 1,364 | 1,283 | -5.9% |
Notes:
- In 2020 work was carried out by some control bodies to group existing operators together, so they effectively became ‘one operator’ whilst previously they may have been separate operators with separate licences.
6. About these statistics
6.1 Contact details
Responsible statistician: Joshua Moatt
Email: organic-stats@defra.gov.uk
Media enquiries: 0330 041 6560
Public enquiries: 0845 601 3034
Mallard House
Kings Pool
1-2 Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PX
6.2 Methodology and more information
For more information about these statistics and how they were produced, please see the about organic farming statistics page.