Accredited official statistics

Organic farming statistics 2023: United Kingdom

Published 9 May 2024

This release presents final estimates of the land area farmed organically, crop areas, livestock numbers and numbers of organic producers and processors in the UK for 2023. A detailed breakdown of organic farming in England is available here. The results are produced from data compiled by approved organic certification bodies. The total organic area referred to is made up of fully organic land and organic land in-conversion.

The data set for this release can be found on the organic farming statistics page.

1. Key findings for the UK

In 2023:

  • 498 thousand hectares were farmed organically in the UK.

  • 60% of UK organic land was in England, 23% in Scotland, 15% in Wales and 1.4% in Northern Ireland.

  • Permanent pasture (including rough grazing) accounted for 62% of organic land in the UK, covering 307 thousand hectares.

  • 10% of organic land in the UK was used to grow cereals (50 thousand hectares).

  • 3.0% of cattle in the UK were reared organically.

  • There were a total of 5,230 organic operators in the UK.

2. Organic land area

2.1 Land area farmed organically

In 2023, the UK had a total area of 498 thousand hectares of land farmed organically, a decrease of 2.1% compared to 2022. The total area includes both the fully converted area and area under conversion.

Organic production comes from fully converted land, which is land that has undergone conversion to meet organic standards. In 2023, the UK had 462 thousand hectares of fully organic land. This represents a decrease of 1.3% from 2022.

Land in-conversion is discussed in detail in section 2.2.

Figure 1: Land area farmed organically in the UK (thousand hectares)

Year In-conversion Fully organic Total
2014 19.7 529.0 548.6
2015 20.6 500.8 521.4
2016 25.2 482.7 507.9
2017 32.6 484.8 517.4
2018 32.9 441.1 474.0
2019 28.1 457.1 485.2
2020 31.3 457.6 489.0
2021 42.0 464.7 506.6
2022 40.3 468.3 508.6
2023 35.7 462.2 497.9

Notes:

  1. Please note, the colours for the fully organic (turquoise) and in-conversion (dark blue) bars have reversed compared to the Organic Farming Statistics, 2022 stats notice.

Table 1: Area farmed organically by country, 2023 (thousand hectares)

Country Area in-conversion Fully organic area Total organic area Total area on agricultural holdings at June Total organic area as % of June area
United Kingdom 35.7 462.2 497.9 17,140 2.9%
England 18.3 279.1 297.5 8,999 3.3%
Wales 4.2 72.6 76.9 1,768 4.3%
Scotland 13.1 103.5 116.6 5,331 2.2%
Northern Ireland 0.1 6.9 7.0 1,042 0.7%

Notes:

  1. Total land area on agricultural holdings at June. Excludes common land.

Source: June Survey of Agriculture as at 1 June 2023.

2.2 Land in-conversion

Before an area can be considered as fully organic, it must undergo a conversion process. In 2023, the UK had 36 thousand hectares of land in-conversion. This constitutes a decrease of 11% from 2022.

The area in-conversion expressed as a percentage of the total organic area can give an indication of the potential growth in the organic sector. In 2023, land in-conversion made up 7.2% of the total organic land in the UK. This was a decrease of 0.8 percentage points from 2022.

Figure 2: Land in-conversion as a proportion of the total area farmed organically in the UK

Download the data for this figure

Text description of Figure 2: Figure 2 shows the area of land in-conversion as a proportion of total land area farmed organically in the UK from 2002 to 2023. The percentage of land in-conversion in the UK peaked in 2002, with the lowest percentage occurring in 2014. Since 2021, the area of in-conversion land has fallen steadily year on year.

3. Organic land use

3.1 Organic land use

Permanent pasture (including rough grazing) accounts for the biggest share of the organic area in the UK (62%), followed by temporary pasture (18%) and cereals (10%). The full breakdown of organic land use in the UK is shown in figure 3 and tables 2 and 3.

Figure 3: Organic land use in the UK, 2023 (thousand hectares)

Use Area (thousand hectares)
Permanent pasture (incl. rough grazing) 307.1
Temporary pasture 91.5
Cereals 50.3
Woodland 17.8
Other arable crops 11.0
Vegetables (incl. potatoes) 10.3
Unutilised & unknown 7.3
Fruit & nuts 2.2
Herbaceous & ornamentals 0.5

Notes:

  1. Some land areas are provided without a crop category or land use description, therefore these are classified as unknown.

Table 2: Organic land use in the UK, 2020 to 2023 (thousand hectares)

Use 2020 2021 2022 2023 Percentage change 2023/2022
Cereals 42.7 46.6 49.5 50.3 1.6%
Other arable crops 9.2 10.8 10.7 11.0 3.1%
Fruit & nuts 2.0 2.4 2.3 2.2 -2.2%
Vegetables (incl. potatoes) 9.5 9.8 10.3 10.3 -0.7%
Herbaceous & ornamentals 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.5 -27%
Temporary pasture 97.1 99.7 96.1 91.5 -4.8%
Permanent pasture (incl. rough grazing) 304.5 310.8 314.1 307.1 -2.2%
Woodland 16.0 17.4 17.3 17.8 2.8%
Unutilised land 2.8 3.3 3.2 3.2 -2.6%
Unknown 4.9 5.2 4.4 4.2 -5.1%
Total 489.0 506.6 508.6 497.9 -2.1%

Notes:

  1. Includes fully organic land and land in-conversion.

  2. Some land areas are provided without a crop category or land use description, therefore these are classified as unknown.

Table 3: Detailed fully organic and in-conversion land use in the UK, 2023 (thousand hectares)

Use Area in-conversion Fully organic area Total organic area Total area on agricultural holdings at June Total organic area as % of June area
Cereals 3.4 46.9 50.3 3,088 1.6%
Wheat 1.7 17.8 19.5 1,720 1.1%
Barley 1.0 6.2 7.2 1,137 0.6%
Oats 0.4 16.6 16.9 167 10%
Other cereals 0.3 6.4 6.7 65 10%
Other arable crops 1.1 9.9 11.0 1,168 0.9%
Sugar beet 0.0 0.3 0.3 99 0.3%
Fodder, forage and silage 0.9 8.8 9.8 94 10%
Maize, oilseeds & protein crops 0.2 0.8 0.9 974 0.1%
Fruit & nuts 0.3 2.0 2.2 32 7.0%
Vegetables 0.7 7.9 8.6 100 8.6%
Potatoes [low] 1.6 1.6 115 1.4%
Herbaceous & ornamentals [low] 0.5 0.5 10 4.6%
Temporary pasture 5.3 86.1 91.5 1,260 7.3%
Permanent pasture (excl. rough grazing) 16.6 226.3 242.9 6,074 4.0%
Rough grazing 6.7 57.5 64.2 3,655 1.8%
Woodland 1.2 16.5 17.8 948 1.9%
Unutilised land 0.2 3.0 3.2 [x] [x]
Unknown 0.1 4.1 4.2 [x] [x]
Total 35.7 462.2 497.9 [x] [x]

Notes:

  1. Total land area on agricultural holdings at June. Excludes common land.

  2. Some land areas are provided without a crop category or land use description, therefore these are classified as unknown.

  3. “[x]” indicates no comparable June survey data is available.

  4. “[low]” indicates a value that is greater than zero, but shows as zero due to rounding. See the accompanying dataset for the unrounded value.

Source: June Survey of Agriculture as at 1 June 2023.

3.2 Organic crops

The three main crop types grown organically are cereals, other arable crops and vegetables (including potatoes). In the UK the area of organically grown cereal crops increased by 1.6% to 50 thousand hectares in 2023. Other arable crops increased by 3.1% to 11 thousand hectares. The area of organically grown vegetables (including potatoes) decreased by 0.7% to 10 thousand hectares in 2023.

Figure 4: Organic crops in the UK

Notes:

  1. Includes fully organic land and land in-conversion.

Download the data for this figure

Text description of Figure 4: Figure 4 shows the area of land, in thousand hectares, used to organically farm cereals, other arable crops and vegetables (including potatoes) from 2002 to 2023. Cereals have the highest area of organic farming, which peaked in 2009. From this peak, the organic area used to farm cereals declined until 2018, since when it has increased steadily year on year. Other arable crops and vegetables (including potatoes) have had similar areas of organic farming throughout the time series. Other arable crops peaked in 2002 and vegetables peaked in 2008.

4. Organic livestock

Table 4: Detailed organic livestock numbers in the UK, 2023 (thousand head)

Livestock Total organic livestock Total livestock at June Organic livestock as % of June livestock
Cattle 290 9,555 3.0%
For slaughter 129 3,754 3.4%
Dairy cows 51 3,228 1.6%
Other cattle 110 2,574 4.3%
Sheep 692 31,803 2.2%
Breeding females 370 15,438 2.4%
Other sheep 322 16,365 2.0%
Pigs 23 4,683 0.5%
Fattening pigs 15 4,255 0.4%
Breeding sows 2 338 0.6%
Other pigs 6 90 6.4%
Poultry 4,365 178,142 2.5%
Broilers 2,200 116,440 1.9%
Laying hens 2,021 41,073 4.9%
Other poultry 144 20,629 0.7%
Other livestock 8 [x] [x]
Farmed deer 6 39 14%
Goats 1 112 0.9%
Horses 1 215 0.6%
Others [low] [x] [x]

Notes:

  1. Data relates to fully organic only.
  2. “Others” include camelids and any livestock not recorded elsewhere.
  3. “[x]” indicates no comparable June survey data is available.
  4. “[low]” indicates a value that is greater than zero, but shows as zero due to rounding. See the accompanying dataset for the unrounded value.

Source: June survey of agriculture as at 1 June 2023 and the Cattle Tracing System for cattle populations.

4.1 Organic cattle

In 2023, organically reared cattle numbers decreased by 2.8% to 290 thousand head. This represents 3.0% of the total herd in the UK.

Figure 5: Number of organic cattle in the UK (thousand head)

Years For slaughter Dairy cows Other cattle Total
2016 98.7 81.4 116.4 296.4
2017 110.5 76.3 107.1 294.0
2018 116.1 88.3 119.7 324.1
2019 88.2 89.8 122.7 300.8
2020 122.0 60.0 121.8 303.9
2021 119.6 59.3 116.7 295.6
2022 122.3 57.4 119.0 298.6
2023 129.3 51.4 109.7 290.4

Notes:

  1. Data relates to fully organic only.

4.2 Organic sheep

The number of sheep reared organically decreased by 5.8% to 692 thousand head and accounted for 2.2% of the total flock in the UK.

Figure 6: Number of organic sheep in the UK (thousand head)

Years Breeding females Other sheep Total
2016 431.2 409.6 840.8
2017 462.1 424.9 887.0
2018 446.6 380.0 826.6
2019 389.7 392.5 782.2
2020 399.6 331.7 731.2
2021 393.3 330.3 723.6
2022 385.1 349.4 734.4
2023 370.0 322.0 692.0

Notes:

  1. Data relates to fully organic only.

4.3 Organic pigs

The number of pigs reared organically decreased by 34% to 23 thousand head and accounted for 0.5% of the total pig herd in the UK.

Figure 7: Number of organic pigs in the UK (thousand head)

Years Fattening pigs Breeding sows Other pigs Total
2016 21.5 4.3 5.7 31.5
2017 25.2 5.2 8.7 39.1
2018 21.3 3.8 12.3 37.4
2019 20.6 3.4 9.9 34.0
2020 16.3 1.6 9.3 27.2
2021 21.3 2.9 7.8 32.1
2022 22.5 3.4 9.1 35.0
2023 15.3 2.0 5.7 22.9

Notes:

  1. Data relates to fully organic only.

4.4 Organic poultry

Organically reared poultry numbers increased by 19% to 4,365 thousand birds and accounted for 2.5% of the total population in the UK.

Figure 8: Number of organic poultry in the UK (thousand birds)

Years Broilers Laying hens Other poultry Total
2016 1,574 1,135 112 2,821
2017 1,725 1,239 95 3,060
2018 1,879 1,413 89 3,381
2019 1,768 1,584 112 3,464
2020 1,708 1,981 97 3,786
2021 1,910 2,015 96 4,021
2022 1,577 2,005 83 3,665
2023 2,200 2,021 144 4,365

Notes:

  1. Data relates to fully organic only.

5. Organic operators

In 2023, there were 5,230 producers and processors registered with the organic certification bodies in the UK, a decrease of 4.8% from 2022. A detailed breakdown of organic crop and livestock operators is available in the dataset accompanying this release.

Figure 9: Organic operators by type in the UK

Years Producers Producers & Processors Processors Total
2014 3,521 174 2,307 6,002
2015 3,429 173 2,454 6,056
2016 3,398 161 2,804 6,363
2017 3,465 144 2,977 6,586
2018 3,483 136 2,569 6,188
2019 3,494 123 2,512 6,129
2020 3,407 197 2,150 5,754
2021 3,401 205 2,126 5,732
2022 3,285 223 1,988 5,496
2023 3,193 223 1,814 5,230

Notes:

  1. Processors can include abattoirs, bakers, storers and wholesalers. The recorded location depends on the address registered with the Certifier Bodies and so larger businesses may be recorded at their headquarters.
  2. In 2018 work was carried out to clarify how operators were recorded. This resulted in a number of operators that were previously recorded as processors being recorded in the correct categories of wholesalers/traders/retailers etc. We were unable to backdate these changes so earlier data are not directly comparable.
  3. In 2020 work was carried out by some control bodies to group existing operators together, so they effectively became ‘one operator’ whilst previously they may have been separate operators with separate licences.
  4. Please note, the colours for Producers & Processors (turquoise) and Processors (purple) bars have reversed compared to the Organic Farming Statistics, 2022 stats notice.

Table 5: Number of organic operators by type and country, 2023

Country Number of producers only Number of producers and processors Number of processors only Total organic producers and processors
United Kingdom 3,193 223 1,814 5,230
England 2,133 174 1,575 3,882
Wales 535 27 77 639
Scotland 379 15 127 521
Northern Ireland 146 7 35 188

Notes:

  1. Processors can include abattoirs, bakers, storers and wholesalers. The recorded location depends on the address registered with the Certifier Bodies and so larger businesses may be recorded at their headquarters.

Table 6: Number of organic operators by country, 2020 to 2023

Country 2020 2021 2022 2023 Percentage change 2023/2022
United Kingdom 5,754 5,732 5,496 5,230 -4.8%
England 4,307 4,296 4,103 3,882 -5.4%
Wales 701 693 663 639 -3.6%
Scotland 541 529 528 521 -1.3%
Northern Ireland 205 214 202 188 -6.9%

Notes:

  1. In 2020 work was carried out by some control bodies to group existing operators together, so they effectively became ‘one operator’ whilst previously they may have been separate operators with separate licences.

6. About these statistics

6.1 Contact details

Responsible statistician: Joshua Moatt
Email: organic-stats@defra.gov.uk
Media enquiries: 0330 041 6560
Public enquiries: 0845 601 3034

Mallard House
Kings Pool
1-2 Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PX

6.2 Methodology and more information

For more information about these statistics and how they were produced, please see the about organic farming statistics page.