Official Statistics

Agricultural facts: South East (including London) region

Updated 30 October 2025

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2025

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agricultural-facts-england-regional-profiles/agricultural-facts-south-east-region

Section 1: Key statistics

Figure 1.1: A map of England with the South East (including London) region highlighted

Source: Office for National Statistics, Open Geography Portal

The South East (including London) region comprises Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent and London.

Key statistics for the South East (including London) region

  • Total Income from Farming[footnote 1] in London and the South East in 2024 was £605 million, an increase of £75 million (+14%) from 2023. This was a result of a decrease of £94 million (-6.8%) in total crop output, an increase of £77 million (+9.3%) in total livestock output and a decrease of £80 million (-5.3%) in intermediate consumption (Source: Total Income from Farming for the regions of England).
  • In 2024, the largest contributors to the output[footnote 2] value (£2.5 billion) were fruits (£352 million), wheat (£258 million), milk (£234 million), plants and flowers (£219 million) and beef (£185 million). These commodities accounted for 49% of the output (Source: Total Income from Farming for the regions of England).
  • The average farm size in 2024 was 89 hectares (Table 1.1). This is the fourth smallest average farm size of all the English regions but larger than the English average of 87 hectares.
  • The predominant farm types in 2024 were grazing livestock (40% of the region’s holdings) and general cropping (23% of the region’s holdings) farms (Figure 1.7).
  • In 2023/24 (covering the 2023 harvest), the average Farm Business Income[footnote 3] across all farm types was £35,200 per farm, which was a decrease of 68% from 2022/23 (Figure 1.9).

Figure 1.2: Total Income from Farming from 2019 to 2024 in current prices (£ million)

Year Total Income from Farming
2019 537
2020 475
2021 656
2022 778
2023 530
2024 605

Source: Total Income from Farming for the regions of England

Figure 1.3: Outputs and subsidies split by percentage from 2019 to 2024 (£ million)

Year Total livestock output Total crop output Subsidies (excluding tax) Diversification Other agricultural activities
2019 637
(27%)		 1,200
(51%)		 253
(11%)		 160
(6.8%)		 104
(4.4%)
2020 659
(29%)		 1,083
(48%)		 247
(11%)		 162
(7.2%)		 100
(4.5%)
2021 717
(28%)		 1,312
(51%)		 240
(9.4%)		 182
(7.1%)		 109
(4.3%)
2022 815
(28%)		 1,582
(54%)		 207
(7.1%)		 198
(6.8%)		 129
(4.4%)
2023 822
(30%)		 1,377
(50%)		 201
(7.3%)		 208
(7.6%)		 135
(4.9%)
2024 899
(33%)		 1,283
(47%)		 224
(8.1%)		 214
(7.8%)		 136
(4.9%)

Source: Total Income from Farming for the regions of England

Figure 1.4: Inputs and costs split by percentage from 2019 to 2024 (£ million)

Year Total intermediate consumption Total consumption of fixed capital Compensation of employees Rent and other associated costs
2019 1,201
(67%)		 314
(18%)		 225
(13%)		 47
(2.6%)
2020 1,161
(66%)		 311
(18%)		 231
(13%)		 46
(2.6%)
2021 1,271
(68%)		 325
(17%)		 237
(13%)		 46
(2.4%)
2022 1,463
(69%)		 363
(17%)		 250
(12%)		 46
(2.2%)
2023 1,501
(69%)		 369
(17%)		 247
(11%)		 45
(2.1%)
2024 1,421
(68%)		 379
(18%)		 243
(12%)		 44
(2.1%)

Source: Total Income from Farming for the regions of England

Figure 1.5: Distribution of farms by size in 2024 (percentage of farm holdings)

Region <5 ha 5<20 ha 20<50 ha 50<100 ha ≥100 ha Total
South East (including London) 14% 30% 20% 13% 23% 100%
England 14% 27% 20% 16% 24% 100%

Source: Defra, June Survey

Notes:

  1. “ha” means “hectares”.

  2. Proportions may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Figure 1.6: Distribution of farms by size in 2024 (percentage of farmed area)

Region <5 ha 5<20 ha 20<50 ha 50<100 ha ≥100 ha Total
South East (including London) 0.4% 3.7% 7.3% 10% 79% 100%
England 0.3% 3.4% 7.6% 13% 76% 100%

Source: Defra, June Survey

Notes:

  1. “ha” means “hectares”.

  2. Proportions may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Table 1.1: Land use in 2024

Measure South East (including London) England
Total farmed area (thousand hectares) 1,119 8,877
Average farm size (hectares) 89 87
Rented (% of farmed area) 31% 32%
Arable (% of farmed area) 58% 55%
Permanent pasture (% of farmed area) 29% 33%

Source: Defra, June Survey

Notes:

  1. Arable includes arable crops, uncropped arable land and temporary grass.

  2. Rented land must be rented for at least one year.

Table 1.2: Crop areas in 2024 (thousand hectares)

Crop South East (including London) England South East (including London) as % of England
Wheat 189 1,402 13%
Barley 106 849 12%
Oilseed rape 36 250 14%
Orchards 7.8 18 44%
Small fruit 5.5 10 55%
Glasshouse 0.3 1.1 31%

Source: Defra, June Survey

Notes:

  1. Crops displayed are those more predominant in the area.

  2. Further data notes on crops can be found below the relevant tables in the statistical dataset for England’s regional breakdown of the structure of the agricultural industry at June.

Table 1.3: Livestock numbers in 2024 (thousand head)

Livestock South East (including London) England South East (including London) as % of England
Cattle 337 4,752 7.1%
Dairy herd 50 1,046 4.8%
Beef herd 56 570 9.9%
Pigs 146 3,680 4.0%
Sheep 1,109 13,831 8.0%
Poultry 7,338 128,581 5.7%
Laying flock 2,632 23,344 11%
Table chickens 2,745 87,924 3.1%
Turkeys 162 3,123 5.2%

Source: Defra, June Survey

Notes:

  1. Livestock displayed are those more predominant in the area.

  2. Cattle numbers relate to commercial holdings only.

  3. Sheep numbers include lambs.

Figure 1.7: Distribution of farms by type in 2024 (percentage of farm holdings)

Region Cereals General cropping Horticulture Dairy Grazing livestock Mixed Pigs, Poultry & Other Total
South East (including London) 18% 23% 5.7% 1.8% 40% 6.9% 4.1% 100%
England 16% 21% 3.3% 4.9% 42% 7.0% 5.6% 100%

Source: Defra, June Survey

Notes:

  1. Proportions may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

  2. “Other” refers to unclassified farm types.

Figure 1.8: Distribution of farms by type in 2024 (percentage of farmed area)

Region Cereals General cropping Horticulture Dairy Grazing livestock Mixed Pigs, Poultry & Other Total
South East (including London) 47% 14% 3.8% 4.5% 21% 9.6% 1.1% 100%
England 33% 17% 1.9% 8.3% 28% 9.3% 2.0% 100%

Source: Defra, June Survey

Notes:

  1. Proportions may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

  2. “Other” refers to unclassified farm types.

Figure 1.9: Average Farm Business Income in 2022/23 and 2023/24 (£ per farm)

Farm type South East (including London) England
All farm types
(2023/24)		 35,200
(±14,100)		 45,300
(±6,500)
Cereals
(2023/24)		 69,000
(±36,700)		 39,400
(±12,700)
Horticulture
(2023/24)		 19,100
(±23,000)		 59,100
(±41,100)
Grazing livestock
(2023/24)		 19,000
(±11,700)		 19,500
(±4,000)
All farm types
(2022/23)		 110,900
(±33,900)		 97,100
(±9,000)
Cereals
(2022/23)		 186,200
(±77,400)		 146,400
(±22,900)
Horticulture
(2022/23)		 103,400
(±97,900)		 95,000
(±59,000)
Grazing livestock
(2022/23)		 21,700
(±12,500)		 24,200
(±4,100)

Source: Defra, Farm Business Survey (regional breakdown not published elsewhere)

Notes:

  1. The Farm Business Survey year runs, on average, from March to February.

  2. Excludes farms with less than £21,000 of standard output.

  3. Farm types displayed are those more predominant in the area.

  4. Lines or values in parentheses indicate the 95% confidence intervals.

  5. In a given Farm Business Survey year, the sample size for some farm types can be relatively small. This means that individual farms can have a large influence on the results, and the results should be treated with caution. See the Farm Business Income by type of farm in England publication for more information.

  6. Values are rounded to the nearest £100.

  7. Data correct as at October 2025.

Table 1.4: Labour force in 2024 (number of people)

Measure South East (including London) England South East (including London) as % of England
Total labour 47,842 284,797 17%
Total labour per farm 3.8 2.8 [z]
Regular workers 15,121 65,556 23%
Regular workers per farm 1.2 0.6 [z]
Casual workers 10,189 34,309 30%
Casual workers per farm 0.8 0.3 [z]
% full time 38% 47% [z]
% part time 35% 37% [z]
% casual 21% 12% [z]

Source: Defra, June Survey

Notes:

  1. “[z]” means “not applicable”.

  2. Total labour includes farmers, partners, directors, spouses, salaried managers, regular and casual workers.

  3. Casual workers are those usually employed for less than 20 weeks of the year.

  4. Number of workers per farm calculations are averages based on the total number of farm holdings in the region.

  5. Part time workers are those employed for less than 39 hours a week.

  6. Percentage calculations for full and part time workers do not include salaried managers.

Section 2: Data notes

Figures are for commercial holdings as at June 2024 (unless stated otherwise). Commercial holdings are those with levels of farming activity above a specified threshold as detailed in this publication’s guidance note. For further information about the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture please visit our survey notes and guidance page on GOV.UK.

“Region” in this statistical notice refers to International Territorial Level 1 (ITL1) for England. The ITL1 regions for Greater London and the South East have been combined in this statistical notice due to the fact that London has such a small farming infrastructure.

This release contains the latest data available at the time of publishing. As a result, reference periods may vary. TIFF and FBI represent data from distinct time periods: TIFF covers January to December 2024, while FBI spans March 2023 to February 2024. As these metrics reflect different reporting periods, direct comparisons between the two should be avoided.

Section 3: Other geographical breakdowns

Defra June Survey data aggregated at other geographical classifications can be found in the Structure of the agricultural industry in England and the UK at June statistical data set on GOV.UK.

England regional data for aggregate agricultural accounts (including data at ITL2 and ITL3) can be found in the Total Income from Farming for the regions of England publication on GOV.UK.

Section 4: Contact details

Team: Farming Statistics - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Email: AUK_stats_team@defra.gov.uk

For media queries between 9am and 5pm on weekdays:

Telephone: 0330 041 6560

Email: newsdesk@defra.gov.uk

  1. Total Income from Farming (TIFF) is the net income to farms once costs have been accounted for, so is calculated as “outputs & subsidies” minus “inputs & costs”. More information on aggregate agricultural accounts can be found on GOV.UK. ↩

  2. Output is the total value (at market prices) of commodities produced without considering production costs or any additional income received through subsidies. More information on aggregate agricultural accounts can be found on GOV.UK. ↩

  3. In simple terms, Farm Business Income (FBI) is the output generated by the farm business minus total farm costs. More information on Farm Business Income can be found on GOV.UK. ↩

Back to top