Accredited official statistics

Chapter 2: Structure of industry

Updated 9 July 2026

Summary

Key results for 2025 compared to 2024:

• The Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) increased by 0.4% to 17 million hectares, covering 69% of land in the UK.

• The total croppable area decreased by 0.7% in 2025 to 6.1 million hectares.

• The cereal crops area increased by 1.6% to 3.0 million hectares.

• The area of oilseed crops planted decreased by 18% to 261 thousand hectares.

• The total number of cattle and calves decreased by 1.3% to 9.3 million animals. The beef herd decreased by 4.1% to 1.3 million animals. The dairy herd increased by 0.7% to 1.8 million animals.

• The total number of pigs increased by 0.5% to 4.7 million animals. The total number of female pigs in the breeding herd decreased by 3.3% to 316 thousand animals.

• The total number of sheep and lambs decreased by 1.7% to 30 million animals.

• The total number of poultry increased by 4.1% to 183 million birds.

• The total agricultural workforce on commercial holdings decreased by 1.5% to 446 thousand people.

Introduction

The tables and charts in this chapter show the size and structure of the agricultural industry in the United Kingdom at 1 June each year. They provide information on land use and livestock numbers, on the distribution of these between holdings and on the agricultural workforce.

Data in this chapter are sourced primarily from the June Surveys of Agriculture carried out in the four UK countries each year. There are some exceptions. In Scotland, most of the land use data are sourced from Single Application Form (SAF) subsidy data. In Northern Ireland, data for pig and poultry are extracted from the NI Annual Inventory of Pigs and Update of NI Bird Register respectively. Also, cattle data are sourced from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) in England, Wales and Scotland and from the equivalent Northern Ireland Food Animal Information System (NIFAIS) in Northern Ireland.

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 and crop areas

At June 2025 the Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) was 17 million hectares, covering 69% 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.

The total croppable area decreased by 0.7% in 2025 and was 6.1 million hectares. However some categories within this total had greater changes than others (see Table 2.1).

Cereal crops accounted for the majority (71%) of the cropped area. As seen in Figure 2.1a, wheat and barley were the predominant cereal crops. In 2025, the area of wheat increased by 9.1% and was 1.7 million hectares. The area of barley decreased by 9.6% and was 1.1 million hectares.

The area of oilseed rape decreased by 18% in 2025 and was 241 thousand hectares. As seen in Figure 2.1b, the area of potatoes increased by 7.2% to 127 thousand hectares in 2025. The remaining arable crops decreased by 6.0% to 688 thousand hectares. Peas for harvesting dry, field beans and maize together accounted for 69% of this area. The area of peas and field beans decreased by 9.9% whilst the area of maize increased by 2.9%.

Figure 2.1c provides a detailed breakdown of horticultural crop areas, with vegetables grown outdoors accounting for 70% of all horticultural crops.

The majority (84%) of the Utilised Agricultural Area is used to feed livestock, rather than for direct human consumption or other uses such as for bioenergy. In this estimate all grassland has been assumed to be for animal feed. When looking solely at the croppable area, the proportion used for animal feed is lower at around 56%.

These proportions have remained broadly stable over the past decade. More detailed breakdowns and a timeseries are available in the Agricultural land used to feed livestock dataset.

Table 2.1 Agricultural land use at June of each year (thousand hectares)

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

Category	2023	2024	2025
UAA (Utilised Agricultural Area)	17,022	16,760	16,821
UAA as a proportion of total UK area	70%	69%	69%
Total agricultural area	18,334	18,046	17,970
Common rough grazing	1,194	1,197	1,197
Total area on agricultural holdings	17,140	16,848	16,773
Total croppable area	6,086	6,167	6,125
Total crops	4,515	4,276	4,236
Total arable crops	4,370	4,134	4,089
Cereals	3,088	2,966	3,013
Oilseeds	418	317	261
Potatoes	115	118	127
Other arable crops	750	732	688
Horticultural crops	145	142	147
Uncropped arable land	311	616	576
Temporary grass under 5 years old	1,260	1,275	1,313
Total permanent grassland	9,730	9,380	9,484
Grass over 5 years old	6,074	5,865	5,985
Sole right rough grazing	3,655	3,511	3,494
Land for solar panels also used for grazing or agricultural production	[X]	4	5
Other land on agricultural holdings	1,324	1,301	1,165
Woodland	948	939	902
Land used for outdoor pigs	12	12	11
Land for solar panels not used for agricultural production	[X]	4	5
All other non-agricultural land	364	347	247

Notes for Table 2.1:

1. 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).

2. Uncropped arable land includes all arable land not in production, including bare fallow and arable land used for environmental benefit but not in production (e.g. pollen and nectar flower mixes).

3. Sole right rough grazing includes mountains, hills, heathland or moorland.

4. Land for solar panels data collected by England only.

5. [X] indicates where data is unavailable.

Source: Defra’s June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture

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Figures 2.1a to 2.1c - Crop areas at June of each year

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

Figure 2.1a Cereal crop areas (thousand hectares)

Year	Wheat	Barley	Oats	Minor cereals	Total
2023	1,720	1,137	167	65	3,088
2024	1,531	1,194	182	59	2,966
2025	1,670	1,080	198	65	3,013

Figure 2.1b Other arable crop areas (thousand hectares)

Year	Oilseeds	Potatoes	Sugar beet (not for stockfeeding)	Maize	Peas for harvesting dry and field beans	Remaining arable crops	Total
2023	418	115	99	240	275	135	1,282
2024	317	118	103	266	224	139	1,168
2025	261	127	93	274	202	120	1,076

Figure 2.1c Horticultural crop areas (thousand hectares)

Year	Vegetables grown outdoors	Orchard fruit	Small fruit	Hardy nursery stock, bulbs and flowers	Glasshouse crops	Total
2023	100	21	11	10	3	145
2024	97	20	11	12	3	142
2025	103	19	10	12	2	147

Notes for Figures 2.1a to 2.1c:

1. Vegetables grown outdoors excludes potatoes, peas for harvesting dry and mushrooms.

2. Orchard fruit includes non-commercial orchards.

3. Small fruit is strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, wine grapes and all other soft fruit.

Source: Defra’s June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture/SAF land data

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Livestock numbers

In 2025, the total number of cattle and calves decreased by 1.3% from 2024 to 9.3 million. The dairy herd remained stable at 1.8 million animals. The beef herd decreased by 4.1% to 1.3 million animals, continuing to drive the gradual downward trend seen in the breeding herd in recent years.

For sheep, the female breeding flock decreased by 0.7% to just under 15 million animals. The number of other sheep and lambs was just under 16 million in 2025, which decreased by 2.7% from 2024. As a result, the total UK sheep and lamb population was 30 million which decreased by 1.7% compared to 2024.

The total number of pigs remained relatively stable at 4.7 million, helped by a 0.9% rise in the number of fattening pigs. The number of pigs in the female breeding herd decreased by 3.3% and was 316 thousand in 2025.

The total number of poultry in the UK increased by 4.1% and was 183 million birds in 2025. The overall increase in numbers was largely due to a 7.6% rise to 121 million in the number of table chickens (broilers), which account for 66% of all poultry.

The breakdowns of livestock populations are shown in Figures 2.2a to 2.2d.

Figures 2.2a to 2.2d - Livestock numbers at June of each year

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

Figure 2.2a Female cattle breeding herd (thousand head)

Year	Cows in the beef herd	Cows in the dairy herd	Total breeding herd
2023	1,407	1,836	3,243
2024	1,344	1,836	3,181
2025	1,290	1,849	3,139

Figure 2.2b Sheep numbers (thousand head)

Year	Female breeding flock	Other sheep and lambs	Total
2023	15,438	16,365	31,803
2024	14,882	16,135	31,017
2025	14,780	15,704	30,484

Figure 2.2c Female pig breeding herd (thousand head)

Year	Sows in pig	Gilts in pig	Other sows for breeding	Total breeding herd
2023	238	48	52	338
2024	236	43	49	327
2025	233	39	44	316

Figure 2.2d Poultry numbers (thousand birds)

Year	Laying flock (including pullets)	Breeding flock	Table chickens	Turkeys, ducks, geese, all other poultry	Total
2023	41,073	12,720	116,440	7,909	178,142
2024	41,863	12,749	112,374	9,099	176,085
2025	42,703	11,232	120,959	8,438	183,332

Notes for Figures 2.2a to 2.2d:

1. Dairy cows are defined as female dairy cows over 2 years old with offspring.

2. Beef cows are defined as female beef cows over 2 years old with offspring.

Source: Defra’s June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture; Cattle Tracing System/APHIS

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Numbers and sizes of holdings and enterprises

Tables 2.2a through to 2.2d compare the number of holdings and area by farm size in 2021 and 2025. In 2025, the total number of holdings was 212 thousand which decreased by 2.2% compared to 2021. Within the four-year period the total area on holdings has decreased by 3.8%.

Between 2021 and 2025 the average area of all holdings decreased by 1.6% and the average croppable area of holdings increased by 2.3%.

Figure 2.3a shows the proportion of holdings and total area by size bands. This shows that around a fifth of holdings had 100 hectares or more, but these holdings accounted for around three quarters of the total area. Most holdings in 2021 and 2025 had fewer than 20 hectares and accounted for just 4.2% of the total area. A similar picture can be drawn for the croppable area which is shown in Figure 2.3c.

In previous editions of Agriculture in the United Kingdom, data from the current year would be compared to data from five years ago. However, it is not possible to use data from 2020 in this instance, as no farm size breakdowns are available due to the smaller than normal sample size used as a result of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tables 2.2a to 2.2d and Figures 2.3a to 2.3c show number of holdings and total areas for the UK. Tables 2.3a and 2.3b, and Figure 2.4 show number of holdings and total areas by country.

Tables 2.2a to 2.2d, and Figures 2.3a to 2.3c: Numbers and sizes of holdings and enterprises at June of each year

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

Table 2.2a Numbers of holdings by total area size group (thousand)

Year	Under 20 hectares	20 to under 50 hectares	50 to under 100 hectares	100 hectares and over	Total
2021	105	41	30	41	216
2025	103	39	30	40	212

Table 2.2b Total area on holdings by size group (thousand hectares)

Year	Under 20 hectares	20 to under 50 hectares	50 to under 100 hectares	100 hectares and over	Total area
2021	713	1,343	2,187	13,192	17,436
2025	699	1,289	2,114	12,671	16,773

Figure 2.3a Proportion of holdings and total area by size group

Category	Under 20 hectares	20 to under 50 hectares	50 to under 100 hectares	100 hectares and over	Total
2021 - Proportion of holdings	48%	19%	14%	19%	100%
2025 - Proportion of holdings	49%	18%	14%	19%	100%
2021 - Proportion of total area	4%	8%	12%	76%	100%
2025 - Proportion of total area	4%	8%	13%	75%	100%

Figure 2.3b Average total and croppable areas on holdings (hectares)

Year	Average total area	Average total area on holdings with >=20 hectares	Average croppable area
2021	81	150	64
2025	79	148	66

Table 2.2c Numbers of holdings with croppable areas by size group (thousand)

Year	Croppable area 0.1 to under 20 hectares	Croppable area 20 to under 50 hectares	Croppable area 50 to under 100 hectares	Croppable area 100 hectares and over	Total
2021	47	17	13	17	94
2025	46	17	13	17	93

Table 2.2d Croppable area on holdings by size group (thousand hectares)

Year	Croppable area 0.1 to under 20 hectares	Croppable area 20 to under 50 hectares	Croppable area 50 to under 100 hectares	Croppable area 100 hectares and over	Total croppable area
2021	283	552	929	4,291	6,056
2025	265	549	915	4,395	6,125

Figure 2.3c Proportion of holdings and croppable area by size group

Category	0.1 to under 20 hectares	20 to under 50 hectares	50 to under 100 hectares	100 hectares and over	Total
2021 - Proportion of holdings with croppable area	50%	18%	14%	18%	100%
2025 - Proportion of holdings with croppable area	50%	18%	14%	18%	100%
2021 - Proportion of croppable area	5%	9%	15%	71%	100%
2025 - Proportion of croppable area	4%	9%	15%	72%	100%

Notes for Tables 2.2a to 2.2d, and Figures 2.3b and 2.3c:

1. Croppable area is defined as land under crops, temporary grass under five years old and uncropped arable land.

Source: Defra’s June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture/SAF land data Scotland.

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Tables 2.3a to 2.3b and Figure 2.4 - Numbers of holdings and areas by size group and country, June 2025

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

Table 2.3a Numbers of holdings by total area size group and country, June 2025 (thousand)

Country	Under 20 hectares	20 to under 50 hectares	50 to under 100 hectares	100 hectares and over	Total
England	39	20	16	25	100
Wales	21	6	5	5	37
Scotland	31	5	4	8	48
Northern Ireland	11	8	4	2	26

Table 2.3b Total area on holdings by size group and country, June 2025 (thousand hectares)

Country	Under 20 hectares	20 to under 50 hectares	50 to under 100 hectares	100 hectares and over	Total area
England	314	647	1,181	6,804	8,946
Wales	123	215	356	1,076	1,770
Scotland	152	165	294	4,413	5,024
Northern Ireland	110	262	282	378	1,032

Figure 2.4 Average total area on holdings by country, June 2025 (hectares)

Country	Average total area	Average total area on holdings with >=20 hectares
England	90	142
Wales	47	101
Scotland	104	286
Northern Ireland	40	64
United Kingdom	79	148

Notes for Tables 2.3a to 2.3b:

1. Totals may not equal the sum of the component parts due to rounding.

Source: Defra’s June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture/SAF land data Scotland.

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Agriculture workforce

The agricultural workforce in 2025 decreased by 1.5% and was 446 thousand people. Farmers, business partners, directors and spouses accounted for 65% of the total workforce.

Figure 2.5 Agricultural labour force on commercial holdings at June of each year (thousand)

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

Year	Farmers, partners, directors and spouses (full time)	Farmers, partners, directors and spouses (part time)	Regular employees, salaried managers and casual workers	Total number of people working on commercial agricultural holdings
2023	148	151	163	462
2024	145	148	160	453
2025	145	144	157	446

Notes:

1. 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).

2. Regular employees include salaried managers as not all UK countries collect separate estimates.

Source: Defra’s June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture

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