Bleak farm income figures show 10% fall in 2023
© Tim Scrivener UK agriculture had a total income from farming of £7.2bn in 2023, dropping by £800m on the previous year, according to latest data from Defra.
Lower commodity prices last year compared to the highs of 2022 were one of the major drivers of this reduction, alongside reduced cropping areas and yields.
Overall, livestock accounted for just over half (51%) of total output, while crops accounted for 31.8%, according to the latest Defra figures.
The remainder was made up of subsidies (7.8%), diversification (4.9%) and other agricultural inputs (4.3%).
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Milk accounted for £5.98bn of total output (turnover), down from £6.66bn the previous year.
Total milk production in 2023 remained fairly stable year-on-year, however milk prices were notably lower.
Farmgate milk prices reached historic highs in excess of 50p/litre at the end of 2022, before falling sharply during the following spring, which led to a lower overall annual average in 2023 of 39.47p/litre.
Livestock
Beef output increased in 2023 by 4% to £3.9bn, while mutton and lamb eased slightly to £1.58bn.
Pig and poultry both increased output, with pigmeat increasing from £1.7bn to £1.8bn and poultry up by £374m to £3.5bn.
Overall poultry production actually declined year-on-year, but higher prices helped drive the increase in total output.
Arable
Total crop output declined by 10% to just under £12bn with cuts across all major cereals and oilseeds sectors.
Wheat fell from £4bn to £2.9bn, barley from £1.8bn to £1.4bn, and oilseed rape dropped from £879m to £483m.
Inputs
Defra says the largest cost facing farmers is intermediate consumption, such as animal feeds and fertilisers.
In 2023, the value of intermediate consumption was £21bn, 2.8% lower than in 2022.
It added that the remaining costs were total consumption of fixed capital (£5.1bn), compensation of employees (£3bn) and other costs (£1.2bn).