United Kingdom: Major highlights of DEFRA’s farm business income report

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The United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has published the farm business income analysis in the year 2019-20, highlighting income is down for arable as well as horticulture sector, but up for livestock sectors.

Average incomes on specialist poultry farms increased thanks to a higher egg output, low costs and increased income from diverse activities offsetting diminished output from poultry meat.

Providing survey results and the year’s Basic Payment, the report shows that average income was lower for lowland grazing livestock, cereal, general cropping and horticulture farms.

While more favourable conditions produced higher yields for many crops, a mix of lower prices for key commodities, together with increased input costs, led to income on cereal and general cropping farms fall.

The average Basic Payment across all farm types was £27,800, Defra explains.