The latest National Statistics on farm incomes were released on 18 December 2012 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. These are sourced from the 2011/12 Farm Business Survey (which covers the 2011 harvest). Figures are for March/February years with the most recent year shown therefore ending February 2012. The results examine farm incomes, outputs and costs for farm types, farm sizes and regions.

Data on the income of farm businesses is used in conjunction with other information on the agricultural sector to help inform policy decisions and to help monitor and evaluate current policies relating to agriculture in the United Kingdom. It also informs wider research into the economic performance of the agricultural industry. The data are provided to the EU as part of the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) and are also used widely by the industry for benchmarking purposes.

Forecasts of income by farm type for the year ending February 2013 and covering the 2012 harvest will be published in January 2013 and can be found at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/

Key results

• In 2011/12 average incomes increased substantially compared to the previous year on grazing livestock farms in both the lowland and Less Favoured Area (LFA). Large increases were also seen on dairy and mixed farms with smaller increases on horticulture and cereal farms.

• Average incomes fell in the pig and poultry sectors compared to 2010/11 and to a lesser extent on general cropping farms.

• There is considerable variation in farm business income both between and within farm types.

• When average Farm Business Income is split by cost centre, agriculture generated a positive return across all farm types.

• The Single Payment still makes an important contribution to average farm incomes for many farm types, although less so in 2011/12 than in previous years.

image expired

The full accounts can be accessed here