Farm Business Income figures have been released by Defra & show that the majority of farm sectors have seen  incomes rise but livestock and mixed farms have seen incomes fall.

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The Farm Business Survey (FBS) is an annual survey providing information on the financial position and physical and economic performance of commercial farm businesses in England. It covers all types of farming in all regions of the country and includes owner occupied,tenanted and mixed tenure farms.

Key points are:

• The fall in the value of the pound has led to increased prices for a number of commodities, having a positive impact on average incomes for cereal, general cropping, mixed and specialist pig and poultry farms.
• The average 2017 Basic Payment is also expected to be around 6 percent higher across all farm types reflecting the weaker pound when sterling rates were determined.
• Higher milk prices plus increased output are expected to double average incomes on dairy farms.
• On lowland grazing livestock farms average incomes are forecast to be similar to 2016/17 as increased output, driven by firmer cattle and sheep prices is offset by higher costs. A smaller increase in output on LFA grazing livestock farms is expected to be insufficient to offset higher costs, leading to lower average incomes.

NFU chief economics adviser Dr Andrew Francis said: “Although largely positive, the range of income figures across farming sectors and the increasing cost of inputs on farm highlights the continued need for measures to manage volatility.

“As the NFU has highlighted in its vision for a future domestic agricultural policy, in order for farms to be productive, profitable and progressive, farmers must have access to a range of market risk management tools and measures to promote productivity.

“We will be consulting with our members on these aspects of a new domestic agricultural policy as we form our response to the Government’s consultation. Our aim is to ensure British farmers can continue to provide the raw ingredients for a safe, affordable, traceable supply of British food to the nation, all while continuing their care for the countryside.”