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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-accounts-in-england/chapter-3-cropping-farms

Back to content Chapter 2: Key Results and Overview Across All Farms in England Chapter 4: Livestock Farms

The following section provides detailed results for each cropping type. 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

Figures are for March/February years with the most recent year shown ending February 2022. This covered the 2021 harvest and includes the Basic Payment due in the 2021/22 accounting year.

Farm Business Income can be considered as comprising income from four different ‘segments’ (i.e. cost centres) of the business: agriculture, agri-environment, diversification and the Basic Payment. However, as the methodology (details can be found under Farm Business Survey documents, Notes and guidance) to allocate costs to each of these segments involves a degree of estimation, results should be interpreted with caution.

At £120,100, average Farm Business Income on cereal farms was nearly 70 percent higher than 2020/21 (Figure 3.1 and dataset Table 5.1). This was primarily due to a 21 percent rise in crop output driven by a combination of higher prices (reflecting tight global supplies), a larger area of winter wheat and barley and higher yields (Table 3.1 and dataset Table 11). Better growing conditions in 2021 brought a return to more typical cropping patterns, with a greater proportion of higher yielding winter crops. While some input costs rose rapidly towards the end of the 2021/22 survey year, on cereal farms average variable costs fell by 3 percent, while fixed costs were 7 percent lower (dataset Table 5.3) with a reduced average tillage area and forward buying of inputs possible factors.

Overall, cereal farms achieved a positive return on their agricultural activities of £54,900 (Figure 3.1) compared to £2,700 in 2020/21. However, comparing farm performance groups (based on the ratio of outputs to inputs), the picture is more mixed. For the lowest 25 percent of farms, the return from agricultural activities remained negative in 2021/22 (although losses were considerably less than 2020/21). Medium performing farms moved from an average loss of -£10,300 to a positive return of £39,400 in 2021/22. At the same time, average income from farming activities for high performing farms was £152,200, more than double 2020/21 (dataset Table 7.2).

At £35,900, the average Basic Payment equated to just under a third of total Farm Business Income and was 14 percent lower than in 2020/21, reflecting a fall in average farmed area and the first year of progressive reduction to the payment. On a per hectare basis the reduction in payment was around 3 percent per hectare. Income from diversified activities rose by 7 percent; lower associated costs along with higher revenue from tourism and retailing helped offset a fall in output from recreation, building rental and renewable energy.

(a) Potato and Sugarbeet yields are provisonal for 2021.

Figure 3.3 shows the proportion of winter wheat grown in England for the 2021 harvest within different bands of production costs. Based on enterprise data from the Farm Business Survey, the average selling price for wheat was around £209 per tonne. Just over half of farms producing winter wheat did so at a cost of less than the average selling price, accounting for 69 percent of winter wheat produced in 2021/22.

On average, general cropping farms saw income increases across all 4 cost centres (agriculture, agri-environment, diversification and the Basic Payment) resulting in their Farm Business Income more than doubling to £145,400 (Figure 3.1 and dataset Table 5.4). As with cereal farms, higher crop output, particularly for winter wheat, was a key factor. The more favourable weather produced higher yields compared to 2020 (Table 3.1), this along with firm prices and increased crop areas also led to a rise in output for peas, beans (Figure 3.4), barley, sugar beet and other crops and by-products. An exception was oilseed rape, where output fell by 19 percent; higher prices (Figure 3.5) and yields were not enough to offset a reduction in average crop area of nearly half.

The overall increase in agricultural output was partially offset by a rise in fixed costs of 17 percent and variable costs of 14 percent. For fixed costs, increases to machinery running costs, water, electricity, other general costs and rent contributed most to the rise, while the main drivers for variable costs were contract costs, seed and fertilisers (dataset Table 5.6). Despite the implementation of the progressive reduction, the average Basic Payment rose by 18 percent on this type of farm, reflecting a larger average farm area than in 2020/21. On a per hectare basis, the average Basic Payment was 3 percent lower than 2020/21. At £13,200 income from agri-environment activities was considerably higher than the 2020/21 level of £4,700.

Source: Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

Source: Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

When comparing farm performance groups (based on the ratio of outputs to inputs), the average Farm Business Income for the lowest 25 percent of farms moved from average loss of -£14,800 in 2020/21 to a positive return of £3,700 (dataset Table 7.4). As with cereals farms, low performers failed to generate a positive income from the agricultural cost centre while medium performers moved from a loss of -£12,900 to a positive income of £59,100. For high performing general cropping farms income from agricultural activities doubled in 2021/22 to £142,800.

On mixed farms, average income rose by 84 percent to £74,000 in 2021/22 (dataset Table 5.22). As with grazing livestock farms (Chapter 4), the primary driver was the move from a negative return of -£15,900 on farming activities in 2020/21, to a positive return of £16,100 in 2021/22 (Figure 3.1). This turnaround was largely due to higher output across most agricultural enterprises, but particularly wheat, other crops, milk and cattle. Costs also increased, but to a lesser degree than output. Variable costs rose by 18 percent with the largest increases to animal feed, crop protection, contract costs and fertilisers. Fixed costs went up by 16 percent most notably for machinery running costs. The contribution of the agri-environment and Basic Payment cost centres rose slightly, while there was no change in income from diversification activities (dataset Table 5.22).

For horticulture farms average income rose by 15 percent in 2021/22 to £60,600 (dataset Table 5.25) with a rise in the return from diversified activities the main driver. Higher output from tourism, building rental and renewable energy more than compensated for a fall in output from food processing and retailing. The net contribution of diversified activities was £24,400, which equated to 40 percent of overall Farm Business Income on this type of farm (Figure 3.1 and dataset Table 5.26). Agricultural output also increased, particularly for outdoor flowers and nursery stock, soft and top fruit, although there were losses on glasshouse flowers and nursery stock enterprises. Overall, variable costs rose by 7 percent and fixed costs by 6 percent. The Basic Payment was virtually unchanged compared to 2020/21, reflecting a slightly larger average farm area.

Back to content Chapter 2: Key Results and Overview Across All Farms in England Chapter 4: Livestock Farms

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