National statistics

Chapter 2: Structure of industry

Updated 21 October 2022

Summary

Key results for 2021 compared to 2020

• The Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) decreased by 0.2% to 17.2 million hectares, covering 71% of land in the UK.

• The total croppable area increased by 0.5% to 6.1 million hectares.

• The cereal crops area increased by 5.7% to 3.2 million hectares.

• The area of oilseed crops planted decreased by 15% to 352 thousand hectares.

• The total number of cattle and calves decreased by 0.1% to 9.6 million. The beef and dairy herds remained largely unchanged at approximately 1.5 and 1.9 million animals respectively.

• Total pig numbers increased by 5.3% to 5.3 million.

• Sheep and lamb numbers increased by 0.8% to 33.0 million.

• The total labour force on commercial holdings decreased by 1.0% to 467 thousand.
   

Introduction

The tables in this chapter show the size and structure of the agricultural industry in the United Kingdom. They provide information on land use and livestock numbers, on the distribution of these between holdings, on the labour force and the age of farm holders.

Data in this chapter are sourced primarily from the June Surveys of Agriculture carried out in the four UK countries each year. The exceptions to this are the holder age data (sourced from the EU Farm Structure Survey) and most of the land use data in Scotland (sourced from Single Application Form (SAF) subsidy data). Also, cattle data are sourced from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) in England, Wales and Scotland and from the equivalent Animal and Public Health Administration (APHIS) system in Northern Ireland.

From 2009 onwards, England data relate to commercial holdings only. Commercial holdings are defined as those with significant levels of farming activity, i.e. holdings with more than five hectares of agricultural land, one hectare of orchards, 0.5 hectares of vegetables or 0.1 hectares of protected crops, or more than 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000 poultry.

For more information on the June Survey and for more detailed results, please see the pages for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Land use, crop areas and livestock numbers

Figure 2.1 Breakdown of croppable area on agricultural holdings, June 2021 compared to 2020 (thousand hectares)

Enquiries: Emma Howat on +44 (0) 3000 600 170
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

Croppable area	2020	2021
Cereals	3038	3211
Temporary grass	1181	1217
Other arable crops	719	713
Oilseeds	415	352
Uncropped arable land	362	265
Horticultural crops	166	161
Potatoes	142	137

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At June 2021 the Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) was 17.2 million hectares, covering 71% of the total UK land area. UAA is made up of arable and horticultural crops, uncropped arable land, common rough grazing, temporary and permanent grassland and land used for outdoor pigs. It does not include woodland and other non-agricultural land.

On the whole, the proportion of croppable land used for each purpose remained similar between 2020 and 2021, however some categories did see value changes (see Figure 2.1).

Cereal crops accounted for 53% of the croppable area. Wheat and barley are the predominant cereal crops. In 2021 the area of wheat rose by 29% to 1.8 million hectares and the area of barley fell by 17% to 1.1 million hectares.

The area of oilseed rape decreased in 2021 by 19% to 307 thousand hectares.

In 2021, the total number of cattle and calves was 9.6 million, a decrease of 0.1% from 2020.The beef and dairy herds have remained largely unchanged in recent years at approximately 1.5 and 1.9 million animals respectively.

The number of lambs under one year old decreased by 0.5% to 16.4 million and the female breeding herd increased by 1.7% to 15.6 million. This led to a total UK sheep and lamb population of 33.0 million, an increase of 0.8% compared to 2020.

The total number of pigs in the UK increased by 5.3%, to 5.3 million in 2021.

The total number of poultry in the UK increased by 4.4% to 190 million birds in 2021 compared to 182 million in 2020. Table fowl account for 67% of the total and increased by 7.0% to 127 million birds. The breeding flock saw a decrease of 11% between 2020 and 2021 and sits at 12 million birds.
 

Table 2.1 Agricultural land use (thousand hectares)

Enquiries: Emma Howat on +44 (0) 3000 600 170
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

	2019	2020	2021
UAA (Utilised agricultural area)	17,532	17,269	17,227
UAA as a proportion of total UK area	72%	71%	71%
Total agricultural area	18,849	18,628	18,631
Common rough grazing	1,197	1,194	1,194
Total area on agricultural holdings	17,652	17,434	17,436
Total croppable area	6,132	6,024	6,056
Total crops	4,714	4,481	4,574
Arable crops	4,551	4,314	4,413
Cereals	3,211	3,038	3,211
Oilseeds (includes linseed and borage)	547	415	352
Potatoes	144	142	137
Other crops	649	719	713
Horticultural crops	163	166	161
Uncropped arable land	224	362	265
Temporary grass under 5 years old	1,193	1,181	1,217
Total permanent grassland	10,193	10,042	9,965
Grass over 5 years old	6,207	6,118	6,071
Sole right rough grazing	3,986	3,924	3,894
Other land on agricultural holdings	1,328	1,368	1,416
Woodland	1,033	1,065	1,076
Land used for outdoor pigs	10	10	12
All other non-agricultural land	284	293	328

Source: UK Agriculture departments June Survey/Census of Agriculture

Notes:

1. As the results are based on sample surveys, they are subject to a degree of sampling error and do not take into account other sources of survey errors, such as non-response bias.
2. Figures for England relate to commercial holdings only.
3. UAA includes all arable and horticultural crops, uncropped arable land, common rough grazing, temporary and permanent grassland and land used for outdoor pigs (it excludes woodland and other non-agricultural land).
4. Uncropped arable land includes all arable land not in production, including land managed in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC12), wild bird cover and game cover.
5. Sole right rough grazing includes mountains, hills, heathland or moorland.
6. Figures are at June of each year.

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Table 2.2a to 2.2c Crop areas and livestock numbers at June of each year

Enquiries: Emma Howat on +44 (0) 3000 600 170
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

Table 2.2a Arable crop areas (thousand hectares)

Crop areas	2019	2020	2021
Total area of arable crops	4,551	4,314	4,413
wheat	1,816	1,387	1,790
barley	1,162	1,388	1,150
oats	182	210	200
rye, mixed corn and triticale	51	53	71
oilseed rape	530	380	307
linseed	15	33	41
potatoes	144	142	137
sugar beet (not for stockfeeding)	108	111	95
peas for harvesting dry and field beans	178	233	249
maize	228	228	227

Table 2.2b Horticultural crop areas (thousand hectares)

Crop areas	2019	2020	2021
Total area of horticultural crops	163	166	161
vegetables grown outdoors	115	118	112
orchard fruit	24	23	23
soft fruit & wine grapes	11	11	10
outdoor plants and flowers	11	11	13
glasshouse crops	3	3	3

Table 2.2c Livestock numbers (thousand head)

Livestock numbers	2019	2020	2021
Total cattle and calves	9,739	9,615	9,603
cows in the dairy herd	1,871	1,850	1,850
cows in the beef herd	1,527	1,509	1,485
Total sheep and lambs	33,580	32,697	32,957
female breeding flock	16,035	15,370	15,624
lambs under one year old	16,672	16,486	16,403
Total pigs	5,078	5,055	5,323
sows in pig and other sows for breeding	356	345	345
gilts in pig	57	57	54
Total poultry	187,072	181,957	190,019
table fowl	121,590	118,388	126,693
laying flock (including pullets)	41,346	39,758	40,568
breeding flock	13,385	13,785	12,271
turkeys, ducks, geese, all other poultry	10,750	10,025	10,487

Source: June Surveys/Census of Agriculture/SAF land data, Scotland Cattle Tracing System/APHIS

Notes for tables 2.2a to 2.2c:

1. Figures for England relate to commercial holdings only.
2. Orchard fruit includes non-commercial orchards.
3. Dairy cows are defined as female dairy cows over 2 years old with offspring.
4. Beef cows are defined as female beef cows over 2 years old with offspring.
5. Scotland have revised their poultry time series in 2019 to reflect new information from a poultry data provider.
6. Data is at June of each year.

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Numbers and sizes of holdings and enterprises

Table 2.3 compares the number of holdings and area by farm size in 2016 and 2021. In 2021 there were 216 thousand holdings compared to 218 thousand holdings in 2016, a decrease of 1.0%. Within the five-year period the total area on holdings has decreased by 0.2% whereas, the average area of all holdings increased by 0.8%. The average croppable area of holdings decreased by 5.7% between 2016 and 2021.

Table 2.3 Numbers of holdings and total area by size group

Enquires: Emma Howat on +44 (0) 3000 600 170
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

	2016	2016	2021	2021
	No. holdings	Area	No. holdings	Area
Total area on holdings
under 20 hectares	101	726	105	713
20 to under 50 hectares	43	1,428	41	1,343
50 to under 100 hectares	32	2,316	30	2,187
100 hectares and over	41	12,994	41	13,192
Total	218	17,463	216	17,436
Average area (hectares)		80		81
Average area on holdings with >=20 hectares		143		150
Croppable area
>0 to under 20 hectares	49	321	47	283
20 to under 50 hectares	20	642	17	552
50 to under 100 hectares	14	971	13	929
100 hectares and over	17	4,139	17	4,291
Total	100	6,073	94	6,056
Average croppable area		61		64

Source: June Surveys/Census of Agriculture/SAF land data Scotland.

Notes:

1. All figures relate to June of each year.
2. Figures for England relate to commercial holdings only.
3. Numbers of holdings are in thousands.
4. Areas are in thousand hectares.
5. Croppable area is defined as land under crops, temporary grass under five years old and uncropped arable land.

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Table 2.4 Numbers of holdings and areas by size group and country at June 2021

Enquiries: Emma Howat on +44 (0) 3000 600 170
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

	England	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Number of holdings (thousand)
Total area on holdings
Under 20 hectares	43	20	30	11
20 to under 50 hectares	20	6	6	8
50 to under 100 hectares	17	5	4	4
100 hectares and over	25	5	9	2
Total	105	37	48	26
Hectares (thousand)
Total area on holdings
Under 20 hectares	327	120	154	113
20 to under 50 hectares	675	216	185	267
50 to under 100 hectares	1,205	367	329	286
100 hectares and over	6,768	1,081	4,974	370
Total	8,976	1,784	5,641	1,036
Average area (hectares)	85	48	117	40
Average area on holdings with >=20 hectares	139	99	309	63

Source: June Surveys/Census of Agriculture/SAF land data Scotland. Notes: 1. Figures for England relate to commercial holdings only.

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Agriculture Workforce

The agricultural workforce in 2021 decreased by 1.0% to 467 thousand people compared to 2020. Farmers, business partners, directors and spouses account for the majority (64%) of the total labour force.
 

Table 2.5 Agricultural labour force on commercial holdings at June of each year (thousands)

Enquiries: Emma Howat on +44 (0) 3000 600 170
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

	2019	2020	2021
Total labour force	476	472	467
Farmers, business partners, directors and spouses	299	301	301
Full time	144	147	147
Part time	155	153	153
Regular employees, salaried managers and casual workers	177	171	167

Source: June Surveys/Census of Agriculture

Notes:

1. Figures for England relate to commercial holdings only.
2. Total labour force includes farmers and spouses.
3. Part-time is defined as working less than 39 hours per week (England & Wales), 38 hours per week (Scotland) and 30 hours per week (N. Ireland).
4. Regular employees include salaried managers as not all UK countries collect separate estimates.
5. For labour force numbers in earlier years see Structure of the agricultural industry.

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Age of holders

Table 2.6 shows the latest available data for proportion of holders by age group. At the time of publication data for 2021 are not yet available.

Agriculture typically has an aging workforce. In 2016, approximately 36% of all holders were over the typical retirement age of 65 years while the proportion of young people aged less than 35 years was 3%.

The proportions of holders in the central age bands of 45-54 years and 55-64 years have remained broadly unchanged over the previous decade. Since 2005 the proportion in the 35-44 years old band has decreased by 5 percentage points whilst the proportion in the oldest band, 65 years and over, has increased by 5 percentage points.

The average age of holders is defined using the median. This is the middle value when all holders’ ages are ranked in order. In 2016 the median age for holders in the UK was 60 years old, an increase of 1 year from 2013.

Table 2.6 Proportion of holders in each age group

Enquiries: Emma Howat on +44 (0) 3000 600 170
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

Proportion of holders (%)

	2005	2007	2010	2013	2016	2021
Holders’ age
Under 35 years	3	3	3	3	3	. .
35 - 44 years	14	12	11	10	9	. .
45 - 54 years	23	23	25	25	23	. .
55 - 64 years	29	29	29	28	29	. .
65 years and over	31	33	32	34	36	. .
Median age (years)	58	59	59	59	60	. .

Source: Defra

Notes:

1. The holder is defined as the person in whose name the holding is operated. The data in this table relate to all holders whether or not the holder is also the manager of the holding.
2. Holdings run by an organisation (such as limited companies or institutions) do not have a holder and are therefore excluded from these figures.
3. Figures from 2010 onwards relate to commercial holdings only for all of the UK. More information on commercial holdings can be found in the introduction section.
4. . . means ‘not available’. At the time of publication data for 2021 is not yet available.
5. Data only collected in years when larger sample survey is run, i.e. every 3 to 4 years, to reduce the burden on farmers.

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