50 a day quit

5 November 1999

50 a day quit

UP TO 50 people a day left the English farming industry last year, according to the latest ministry figures.

The June census results show a drop in the total agricultural labour force of over 4% on the year to 402,800 – a loss of over 17,500 workers in 12 months.

A sharp drop in the number of farm workers accounted for most of the fall with losses spread relatively evenly across full-time, part-time and casual workers.

But there was also a significant drop in the number of full-time farmers.

In contrast to 1998 when the number of farmers went up, the number fell from just over 229,000 to just under 225,000.