Accredited official statistics

Total Income from Farming in the United Kingdom 2021 (published 12 May 2022)

Updated 6 June 2024

This release presents the estimate^{[footnote 1]} for UK Total Income from Farming (TIFF) for 2021, and is subject to a degree of revision when estimates for 2022 are published next year. Minor revisions have also been made to historic data in this release, owing to the availability of additional data.

TIFF is the income to those who own businesses within the agricultural industry. It is the total profit from all UK farming businesses on a calendar year basis. It measures the return to all entrepreneurs for their management, inputs, labour and capital invested. The term ‘income’ used throughout this notice refers to TIFF.

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1. Key messages

• UK TIFF in 2021 was £5,998 million, an increase of £756 million (14.4%) from 2020. Although costs increased in 2021, these were outweighed by increases in both total livestock and total crop outputs, resulting in the third highest TIFF, in real terms, since 2000.

• In 2021, agriculture’s contribution to the UK economy (Gross Value Added^{[footnote 2]} at basic prices^{[footnote 3]}) was £11,222 million (0.51% of GDP). This constitutes an increase of £914 million (8.9%) compared to 2020.

• Total livestock output in 2021 was £16,285 million, an increase of £1,034 million (6.8%) from 2020. All major livestock outputs saw increases in value owing to high prices, with the exception of pigmeat which decreased in value by £38 million. The largest value increases were seen in milk, which increased by £344 million, and beef which increased by £310 million.

• In 2021, total crop output increased by £1,802 million (19.9%) from 2020, to £10,876 million. High prices and generally favourable growing conditions saw many crop outputs increase in value, the largest being wheat, which increased by £1,160 million. However, fruit and potatoes saw the largest decreases in value of £123 million and £119 million respectively.

• Intermediate consumption increased by £2,044 million (12.2%) from 2020, to £18,854 million in 2021. The majority of costs increased in 2021, particularly animal feed, which increased by £978 million, and fertilisers, which increased by £559 million. Seed costs fell by £87 million in 2021, returning to more normal levels following unusually high costs in 2020.

Figure 1: Total Income from Farming for the United Kingdom: 2016 to 2021 at current prices

Figure 1 shows the value of TIFF from 2016 to 2021 at current prices^{[footnote 4]}. Since 2016, the average value of TIFF has been £5.1 billion, with the lowest value of £3.5 billion occurring in 2016, and the highest value of £6.0 billion occurring in 2021, an increase of £0.8 billion (14.4%) from 2020.

Below we provide a detailed comparison of the TIFF account from recent years in current terms. This approach is considered the most intuitive for comparisons over a short time period.

2. Outputs and subsidies

2.1 Overview

Figure 2: Summary of outputs and subsidies, 2016 to 2021

Figure 2 shows the value of all outputs and subsidies from 2016 to 2021. Outputs and subsidies represent all financial incomes to farmers. Total livestock output is consistently the largest contributor to the value of all outputs and subsidies. In 2021, total livestock output was £16,285 million, an increase of £1,034 million (6.8%) on 2020. The second largest contribution to the value of outputs and subsidies in 2021 was total crop output at £10,876 million, an increase of £1,802 million (19.9%) on 2020. The remaining incomes to farmers in 2021 were all subsidies (£3,297 million), inseparable non-agricultural activities (£1,496 million) and other agricultural activities (£1,371 million).

2.2 Total livestock output

Figure 3: Main contributions to total livestock output (£ million)^(a)

Item	2020	2021
Milk	4,426	4,770
Beef	2,955	3,265
Poultry	2,829	2,901
Mutton and lamb	1,363	1,529
Pigmeat	1,481	1,442
Livestock gross fixed capital formation	1,312	1,392
Eggs	740	828

^(a) Cattle, sheep and pigs for meat have been renamed beef, mutton and lamb, and pigmeat respectively. The data used to calculate these values has not changed.

• The largest contribution to total livestock output in 2021 was milk with a value of £4,770 million. Milk also has the largest increase in value within total livestock output, with an increase of £344 million (7.8%) from 2020. This value increase was due to an increase in the price of milk, with the price of milk per litre being 2.5p higher than in 2020. In previous years, milk prices have followed a seasonal pattern of rises and falls throughout the year. However, in 2021 milk prices generally increased throughout the year, with December 2021 seeing the first price increase from November to December since 2016. The volume of milk produced was relatively unchanged in 2021, falling by 0.1% from 2020.

• In 2021, the second largest increase in value in total livestock output was beef with an increase of £310 million (10.5%) on 2020. The increase in the value of beef was due to an average price increase of 6.9% in 2021, with prices increasing steadily since 2019. The volume of beef produced remains relatively consistent with a small 3.3% increase from 2020.

• The largest decrease in value was pigmeat, with a decrease of £38 million (-2.6%) on 2020. 2021 was an unusual year for pigmeat production. There was an increase to the herd size, owing to an anticipated increase in demand which didn’t occur. During the summer, CO₂ and butcher shortages resulted in a backlog of pigs on farms and delayed slaughtering, causing the average carcase weight to increase. Consequently, production of pigmeat increased in 2021 passing 1 million tonnes for the first time. However, this excess of pigmeat has resulted in the price falling by an average of 7.7%.

2.3 Total crop output

Figure 4: Main contributions to total crop output (£ million)^(a)(b)

Item	2020	2021
Wheat	1,544	2,705
Fresh vegetables	1,670	1,668
Plants and flowers	1,367	1,580
Barley	1,062	1,162
Fruit	1,031	908
Other crop products	472	807
Potatoes	824	706
Oilseed rape	358	488
Other industrial crops	321	431
Forage plants	217	205

^(a) AHDB stopped producing potato yield data and prices in the last half of 2021. We have therefore looked at previous trends for the missing data and also sought views from stakeholders to estimate the value of the sector.

^(b) ‘Other industrial crops’ includes the value of protein crops and sugar beet.

• The largest contribution to total crop output in 2021 was wheat with a value of £2,705 million. Wheat also saw the largest increase in value within total crop output, with an increase of £1,160 million (75.1%) from 2020. The value of wheat in 2020 was unusually low, owing to the lowest wheat production since 1981. In comparison to 2019, a more typical year, the value of wheat is 11.1% higher in 2021. The main driver of the increase in wheat value was a strong price, which increased on average by 20.0% in 2021. The volume of wheat produced in 2021 increased by 46.0% compared to 2020, but this reflects the poor growing conditions in 2020. Compared to 2019, the volume of wheat produced was 14.1% lower in 2021.

• In 2021, the second largest increase in value within total crop output was the output of ‘other crop products’, with an increase of £335 million (71.1%) from 2020. This increase in value is due entirely to increases in the value of straw and inter-farm transfers of straw, which increased in value by 78.1% and 77.8% respectively. 2021 saw reasonable crop yields with higher volumes of straw produced than in 2020. Additionally, the average price of straw in 2021 increased by 26.6% compared with 2020.

• The largest decrease in value was the output of fruit, with a decrease of £123 million (-11.9%) on 2020. Production of fruit was severely impacted by cold weather in 2021. Planting, bud break and early development were all delayed by wet and cold weather during February and March, and overnight frosts in April damaged many flowering fruit crops. This led to a reduction in fruit production overall. Furthermore, the average price of fruit fell by 8.0% in 2021 which, coupled with the decrease in production, resulted in a fall in fruit value from 2020.

2.4 Other Outputs and Subsidies

Table 1: Breakdown of other incomes and subsidies (£ million)^(a)(b)(c)

Item	2020	2021
Subsidies not linked to production	3,297	3,249
Inseparable non-agricultural activities	1,496	1,496
Other agricultural activities	1,248	1,371
Subsidies linked to production	47	47

^(a)Since 2012, subsidies linked to production have only been paid in Scotland.

^(b)Subsidies not linked to production are all subsidies not directly linked to production, including the basic payment scheme and agri-environment schemes.

^(c)Not all the data used to provisionally estimate the 2021 value for inseparable non-agricultural activities was available for this release. See section 6.2 Revisions for details.

3. Inputs and costs

3.1 Overview

Figure 5: Summary of inputs and costs, 2016 to 2021

Figure 5 shows the make-up of all inputs and costs from 2016 to 2021. Inputs and costs represent all money paid out by farmers during a calendar year. The make-up of all inputs and costs has been remarkably constant for the last 5 years. The largest cost facing farmers is intermediate consumption^{[footnote 5]}. In 2021 the value of intermediate consumption was £18,854 million, an increase of £2,044 million (12.2%) on 2020. The remaining costs in 2021 were total consumption of fixed capital (£4,615 million), compensation of employees (£2,814 million) and other costs^{[footnote 6]} (£1,044 million).

3.2 Inputs: Intermediate consumption

Figure 6: Main contributions to intermediate consumption (£ million)^(a)

Item	2020	2021
Animal feed: compounds	3,473	4,254
Other goods and services	3,299	3,494
Total maintenance	1,845	1,903
Animal feed: straights	1,545	1,658
Fertilisers	1,058	1,617
Agricultural services	1,248	1,371
Plant protection products	896	959
Motor and machinery fuels	782	924
Animal feed: other	713	797
Seeds	863	776
Electricity and fuels for heating	452	480
Veterinary expenses	461	463

^(a)Animal feed: other represents feed produced and used on farm or purchased from other farms.

• The largest contribution to intermediate consumption was compound animal feed, with a value of £4,254 million. Compound animal feed also saw the largest increase in value in 2021, with an increase of £782 million (22.5%) from 2020. In 2021 the volume of compound animal feed used increased across most sectors, resulting in a 7.4% increase in volume. This increase in volume was coupled with a 14.1% increase in price, owing to higher prices of raw materials.

• In 2021 the second largest value increase in intermediate consumption was fertilisers, with an increase of £559 million (52.9%) from 2020. This rise is due to increases in both volumes used and prices of fertilisers. There was a 4.5% increase in the volume of fertilisers used in 2021, owing to a return to more fertiliser intensive winter sowing, following a switch to spring sowing in 2020. However, the main driver of this increase was higher prices, with an average increase in price of 46.3% across all fertilisers. This price increase was largely the result of higher energy prices raising the cost of manufacturing, coupled with higher demand.

• The largest decrease in value was seeds, with a decrease of £87 million (-10.1%) from 2020. The decrease in seeds seen in 2021 was the result of a return to more normal sowing practices, following an unusual 2020. In 2020, poor weather conditions during drilling of winter wheat saw many farmers switching to spring sowing of other crops, increasing seed usage. 2021 saw favourable conditions for both winter and spring sowing of crops, leading to a return to winter sowing and an 11.4% reduction in the volume of seeds used.

3.3 Other Inputs and Costs

Table 2: Breakdown of other inputs and costs (£ million)

Item	2020	2021
Total consumption of fixed capital	4,585	4,615
Equipment consumption of fixed capital	2,046	2,131
Livestock consumption of fixed capital	1,464	1,369
Buildings consumption of fixed capital	1,075	1,115
Other taxes on production	-104	-104
Compensation of employees	2,731	2,814
Rent	543	545
Interest	399	395

4. Long Term Trends in TIFF

Values in this section are expressed in real terms^{[footnote 7]} at 2021 prices. The figures have been adjusted to account for inflation, which allows more meaningful comparisons between years over the longer term.

Figure 7: Long term trends in TIFF, 2000 to 2021

Table 3: Headline figures in real terms 2016 to 2021 (£ million)

Item	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Total crop output	9,169	10,165	10,217	10,610	9,101	10,876
Total livestock output	14,057	15,653	15,685	15,413	15,295	16,285
Total intermediate consumption	16,748	17,361	18,286	18,091	16,858	18,854
Total income from farming	3,963	6,147	5,241	5,542	5,257	5,998

• In real terms, UK TIFF rose strongly between 2000 and 2008. Since then, TIFF has remained close to or within the £4 billion to £6 billion range, but with some big year-on-year fluctuations.

• TIFF fell sharply in 2015 driven by lower commodity prices and a stronger pound. In 2016 the exchange rate improved but a poor harvest and continued low commodity prices kept income low. In 2017, TIFF reached the highest point for 20 years as a result of a favourable combination of a weaker pound, strong commodity prices and high levels of production. In 2018, extreme weather conditions led to poor yields and pushed up the price of key inputs. These factors were not fully offset by strong commodity prices resulting in a 14.7% fall in TIFF that year.

• More recently, favourable weather in 2019 produced modest increases to both crop output and TIFF. In 2020, poor weather during winter sowing resulted in the lowest wheat value, in real terms, since 2006. This was offset by a strong year for livestock and relatively low year for costs, resulting in a modest 5.1% fall in TIFF from 2019.

• In 2021, TIFF was £5,998 million, an increase of £741 million (14.1%) in real terms from 2020. Despite high prices raising input costs, these were offset by high output prices resulting in the third highest TIFF value, in real terms, since 2000.

5. Balance Sheet for the United Kingdom Agricultural Industry

Table 4: Balance sheet (£ million)^(a)

Item	2018	2019	2020	2021
Total fixed assets	262,777	275,284	286,416	290,187
Total current assets	15,435	15,334	16,306	16,676
Total assets	278,212	290,619	302,722	306,863
Total long and medium term liabilities	14,640	15,286	15,523	15,696
Total short term liabilities	6,235	6,003	5,466	5,543
Total liabilities	20,875	21,290	20,989	21,239
Net worth	257,337	269,329	281,733	285,624

^(a)Balance sheet as at December each year

Table 4 presents the agricultural balance sheet which values the assets and liabilities for agriculture at the end of each calendar year and estimates the net worth of the industry. Overall net worth is estimated to have been £285,624 million in 2021, an increase of £3,890 million (1.4%) on 2020. This was the result of an increase in total assets of 1.4% and an increase in total liabilities of 1.2%. Land is the largest fixed asset in the agricultural industry with a value of £243,756 million in 2021, an increase of 1.2% on 2020.

Table 5: Balance sheet in real terms (£ million)

Item	2018	2019	2020	2021
Total assets	299,787	306,893	303,584	306,863
Total liabilities	22,494	22,482	21,048	21,239
Net worth	277,294	284,411	282,536	285,624

In real terms at 2021 prices, net worth increased by 1.1% from 2020. Total assets increased by 1.1% and total liabilities increased by 0.9%.

6. About these statistics

6.1 Contact details

Responsible statistician: Joshua Moatt
[email protected]
Telephone enquiries: 0207 714 1913
Media enquiries: 0345 051 8486
Public enquiries: 0845 601 3034

Room 202 Foss House
Kings Pool
1-2 Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PX

6.2 Revisions

This release represents the estimate for TIFF 2021 in the United Kingdom. At the time of publication, not all data are available for 2021 and some values have been forecasted. Consequently, this release is subject to a degree of revision when the estimate 2022 s published next year.

As a result of more data becoming available over time there have been minor revisions to earlier years in this release. These revisions are intended to enhance the precision of these estimates. Sometimes additional revisions are necessary to refine the methodology or correct historical errors.

TIFF is the relatively small difference between two large numbers and is therefore sensitive to small percentage changes in the values of outputs and intermediate consumption. A combination of a revision downwards in outputs and revision upwards in intermediate consumption leads to more sizeable revisions in percentage terms to Gross Value Added and TIFF.

Below are a list of key revisions that have been carried out since the last publication:

• There have been minor revisions to the value of most outputs and inputs for 2020, owing to additional data becoming available since the 2020 second estimate was published in December 2021. Primarily this is data from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• There have been minor revisions to liabilities presented in the balance sheet for 2019 and 2020, owing to fixing a historical error in their calculation.

• The value of eggs has been revised from 2018 onwards, owing to an error where unpacked eggs were not included in the total value.

• More accurate data was acquired for the calculation of total maintenance and capital consumption/formation, leading to some minor revisions to the back series.

• The methodology for calculating the value of potatoes has changed for 2021 in comparison to previous years. AHDB stopped producing potato yield data and prices in the last half of 2021. We have therefore looked at previous trends for the missing data and also sought views from stakeholders to estimate the value of the sector.

• The data used to provisionally estimate the 2021 value for inseparable non-agricultural activities was not available for England, Wales or Scotland for this release. We have therefore carried forward the 2020 value, but will revise this for the final estimate when more data will be available.

• To bring the terms used in the TIFF publication in line with wider Defra publications, cattle, sheep, and pigs primarily for meat have been renamed beef, mutton and lamb, and pigmeat respectively. This is to increase consistency and aid usability of our published statistics. The methodology by which these items are calculated remains unchanged.

6.3 National Statistics status

National Statistics are produced to high professional standards. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.

These statistics last underwent a full assessment against the Code of Practice for Statistics in 2014 (see Assessment Report 271: Statistics on Agriculture).

The continued designation of these statistics as National Statistics was confirmed in December 2017 following a compliance check by the UK Statistics Authority (now the Office for Statistics Regulation) against the Code of Practice for Statistics. The compliance check letter can be found on the UK Statistics Authority website.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics and have enhanced data quality by reviewing methodologies and data sources. A summary quality report for this statistical release can be found on the GOV.UK website for Aggregate agricultural accounts.

For general enquiries about National Statistics, contact the National Statistics Public Enquiry Service:

Phone: 0845 601 3034
Email: [email protected]

6.4 Quality assurance

Defra has in place quality assurance processes to check the accuracy and reliability of the aggregate agricultural accounts that include:

• Ongoing review of methods employed in the calculation of the accounts.
• Assessment of the quality of the estimates of components of the accounts with internal experts.
• Discussion of components of the accounts with external experts.

6.5 Development areas

Defra statisticians carry out a continuous review of methods employed in making estimates of the production and income accounts. This may lead to revisions to data series owing to improvements in methods, in addition to the use of more up-to-date information.

6.6 Main users and uses of the aggregate agricultural accounts

The aggregate agricultural accounts are used both within government and by the wider agricultural industry in conjunction with other economic information to:

• Monitor the productivity and competitiveness of the farming industry.
• Inform policy decisions and to help monitor and evaluate current policies relating to agriculture in the UK by Government.
• Inform stakeholders of the performance of the agricultural industry.
• Inform research into the economic performance of the agricultural industry.

6.7 Related publications

A number of publications released by Defra are relevant to this release. Below is a list of the key publications and links to them on GOV.UK.

• Total factor productivity of the UK agricultural industry.

• Total Income from Farming in England.

• Total Income from Farming in the regions of England.

• Farm Business Survey: Farm business income.

1. Initially this release was termed the “first estimate”. We have now moved to an annual release schedule so this marking has been removed to reflect that. This represents a change in terminology only, all data contained within are equivalent. ↩

2. Gross Value Added (GVA) is computed as Gross output minus intermediate consumption and represents that contribution of a business, sector or industry to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). ↩

3. Basic price is the market price plus directly paid subsidies that are linked to the production of specific products. ↩

4. Current price is the value based on prices observed during the reference year (i.e. values not adjusted for inflation). The alternative to current price is ‘real terms’. ↩

5. Intermediate consumption is the goods and services used as inputs in the productive process, e.g. feed, energy and fertilisers. ↩

6. Other costs includes other taxes on production, rent and interest paid. ↩

7. Real terms is where values from previous years have been adjusted for inflation. The alternative to real terms is ‘current price’. ↩