Agricultural workforce in England at 1 June 2023
Updated 28 September 2023
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agricultural-workforce-in-england-at-1-june/agricultural-workforce-in-england-at-1-june-2023
This release contains the estimates of the agricultural workforce on commercial agricultural holdings in England on 1 June 2023 from the June Survey of Agriculture.
All results tables are available in the accompanying dataset which is available at Agricultural workforce in England 2002 to 2023
Key points
Agricultural workforce
- The total number of people working on agricultural holdings in England was 292 thousand on 1 June 2023. This is a decrease of 2.9% since 2022.
- Farmers, business partners, directors and spouses account for over half (61%) of the total workforce and decreased by 0.6% to 179 thousand people in 2023.
- Regular workers decreased by 4.2% to 65 thousand people in 2023.
- Casual workers saw a fall of 11% between 2022 and 2023.
Sex and age group
- 12% of principle farmers and holders were female. This proportion was similar across all age groups, except in the youngest age group (16 to 24 years), where a higher proportion of farmers were female (26%). 35% of principal farmers and holders were aged 65 years or older. Only 16% were under 45 years old.
Section 1 – Detailed results
1.1 Agricultural workforce
The total number of people working in agriculture in England was 292 thousand on 1 June 2023, showing a decrease of 2.9% since 1 June 2022.
In 2023 farmers, business partners, directors and spouses accounted for over half (61%) of the workforce and at 179 thousand people has remained relatively stable over the last 3 years. Salaried managers make up a much smaller proportion of the total (4%) and decreased by 0.9% to 12 thousand people in 2023. Regular employees and casual workers make up the remainder of the total workforce, accounting for 22% and 13% respectively (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Total agricultural workforce in England at 1 June
| Workforce | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmers, partners, directors and spouses | 179,029 | 179,769 | 178,696 |
| Salaried managers | 11,812 | 12,210 | 12,095 |
| Regular workers | 67,677 | 67,427 | 64,583 |
| Casual workers | 38,900 | 41,740 | 37,027 |
The total number of regular workers decreased by 4.2% to 65 thousand. There were 41 thousand full time regular workers, a decrease of 4.6% between 2022 and 2023. Part time regular workers saw a smaller proportional change, falling by 3.5% from 24 thousand to 23 thousand people. Out of the regular workers, approximately 60% worked full time and 40% worked part time, this proportional split is little changed year on year (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 - Proportions of full time and part time regular workers in England at 1 June
| Year | Full time | Part time | Total regular workers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 62% | 38% | 100% |
| 2020 | 64% | 36% | 100% |
| 2021 | 62% | 38% | 100% |
| 2022 | 64% | 36% | 100% |
| 2023 | 64% | 36% | 100% |
As these results are a snapshot of the workforce on the farm at 1 June and given the nature of agricultural work, it is therefore not unusual for the number of casual workers to vary from year to year. The number of casual workers decreased by 11% from 42 thousand people on 1 June 2022 to 37 thousand on 1 June 2023.
Decreases were seen in both the number of male and female casual workers, which fell by 10% and 13% respectively. The proportional split between males and females has remained unchanged in recent years with males consistently accounting for almost two thirds (65%) of casual workers (see Figure 3).
Figure 3 – Male and female casual workers in England at 1 June
| Year | Male | Female | Casual workers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 29,315 | 16,528 | 45,843 |
| 2020 | 26,384 | 15,129 | 41,513 |
| 2021 | 24,751 | 14,149 | 38,900 |
| 2022 | 26,780 | 14,960 | 41,740 |
| 2023 | 23,994 | 13,033 | 37,027 |
1.2 Sex and age group
This year we asked principal farmers and holders about their sex and age group to help us gain an overview of diversity within the farming population of England. The questions were optional and while the majority of farmers answered them, some left the questions blank. The figures presented here relate only to those who provided an answer.
The categories are based on the Office for National Statistics guidance for the collection and classification of sex and age group data in the UK. These harmonised standards allow consistency and comparability of statistical outputs across the country.
Sex
In 2023, 88% of principle farmers and holders were male while only 12% were female. This proportion was similar across all age groups, except for the youngest age group (16 to 24 years), where a higher proportion of farmers were female (26%), (see Figure 4).
Figure 4 – Proportion of farmers in each age group, by sex in England at 1 June
| Age band | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 to 24 years | 74% | 26% | 100% |
| 25 to 34 years | 88% | 12% | 100% |
| 35 to 44 years | 88% | 12% | 100% |
| 45 to 54 years | 88% | 12% | 100% |
| 55 to 64 years | 89% | 11% | 100% |
| 65 and over | 87% | 13% | 100% |
Age Group
In 2023, the highest proportion of farmers (35%) were aged 65 years and over, 32% were aged 55 to 64 years and 18% were aged 45 to 54 years. By contrast less than 20% of farmers were aged 16 to 44 years and of those, 1% were aged 16 to 24 years (see Figure 5).
Figure 5 – Age distribution of farmers in England at 1 June
| Age band | Proportion of farmers |
|---|---|
| 16 to 24 years | 1% |
| 25 to 34 years | 5% |
| 35 to 44 years | 10% |
| 45 to 54 years | 18% |
| 55 to 64 years | 32% |
| 65 and over | 35% |
Section 2 – About these statistics
2.1 Survey methodology
Full details of the survey methodology are available on the Structure of the agricultural industry guidance web page.
The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture has been run predominantly online since 2011, with an option for farmers to complete a paper form if they prefer. The survey is annual and samples around 30,000 holdings most years, with a full census run once a decade. The last census was run in 2021.
The June 2023 survey was sent to a sample of 30,000 commercial holdings and responses were received from 17,000 holdings, representing a response rate of 56%. Commercial holdings are defined as those 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.
Table 1 provides details of the sample survey population broken down by farm size. The size of a farm is determined by its Standard Labour Requirement (SLR) which is the typical number of full-time workers required on the holding based on its activity.
Table 1: June 2023 population size and sampling rate
| Stratum | Description | Sampling rate (%) | Population size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLR < 0.5 | 11% | 51,813 | |
| 2 | SLR >= 0.5 and < 1 | 20% | 14,898 | |
| 3 | SLR >= 1 and < 2 | 36% | 13,374 | |
| 4 | SLR >= 2 and < 3 | 52% | 7,130 | |
| 5 | SLR >= 3 and < 5 | 70% | 7,019 | |
| 6 | SLR >= 5 | 83% | 7,423 | |
| 10 | SLR unknown | 27% | 4,790 | |
| All | 28% | 106,447 |
For pig and poultry sectors, an additional data collection exercise was run to collect data from a central point for some of the largest companies. Cattle results are sourced from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS). The data include returns from all holdings with cattle so are not subject to survey error.
2.2 Data analysis
The data are subject to rigorous validation checks which identify inconsistencies within the data or large year-on-year changes. Any records that have not been cleaned by the results production stage are excluded from the analysis.
Population totals are estimated for each question on the survey to account for the non-sampled and non-responding holdings. This survey uses the technique known as ratio raising, in which the trend between the sample data and base data (previous year’s data) is calculated for each stratum. The calculated ratio is then applied to the previous year’s population data to give England level estimates. For holdings where we do not have base data (new holdings or long-term non-responders) the sample estimates are raised according to the inverse sampling fraction.
2.3 Confidence indicators
Confidence intervals and tick based indicators are shown alongside all of our estimated figures and can be found in the data tables within the dataset. These both help to show where there is more variability around results and highlight whether year-on-year changes are statistically significant or not. Whilst these are a useful indicator, they do not take into account any other sources of survey errors, such as non-response bias or administrative data errors.
2.4 Data notes
- All figures relate to commercial holdings.
- All percentage changes are based on unrounded figures.
- Totals may not necessarily agree with the sum of their components due to rounding.
2.5 Data uses and users
Results from the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture have a wide range of uses and users with requests for data being made on a frequent basis. A document providing information of specific uses and users can be found on our guidance and notes.
2.6 Other survey results and publications
The next releases from the June Survey will be UK results and are expected to be in December. The definitive publication date will be announced on the research and statistics webpage on gov.uk.
More detailed results from the June Survey can be found on our Structure of the agricultural industry in England and the UK at June web page. This includes various time series of crop areas and livestock numbers dating back as early as 1866 and detailed geographical breakdowns of the results.
2.7 Feedback
We welcome feedback and any thoughts to improve the publication further. Please send any feedback to: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk.
Section 3 - What you need to know about this release
Contact details
Responsible statistician: Sarah Thompson
Team: Farming Statistics – Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk
Tel: 0300 060 0170
National Statistics Status
National Statistics status means that our statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value and it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.
The continued designation of these statistics as National Statistics was confirmed in 2014 following a full assessment by the UK Statistics Authority against the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Since the last review of these statistics in 2014, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made improvements including:
- Reviewed and amended the validation checks carried out on response data including validation against new administrative data sources to better assure ourselves of the quality of the statistics.
- Enhanced trustworthiness by removing pre-release access.
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