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Chapter 3: Cropping Farms

Updated 22 January 2026

Applies to England

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← Chapter 2: Key Results and Overview Across All Farms in England

The following section provides detailed results for each cropping type. Where dataset tables are referred to in the text, these can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-accounts-in-england-data-sets.

Figures are for March to February years, with the most recent year shown ending February 2025. This covers the 2024 harvest and includes the delinked Basic Payment due in the 2024/25 accounting year.

Figure 3.1: Average Farm Business Income for cropping farms in England, broken down by cost centres, 2023/24 and 2024/25

Source: Dataset Table 5

Figure notes:

1. The legend is presented in the same order as the bars (FBI is represented by circular points).

2. The data shown are the averages across all farms in the sample, including those that do not have any income within some of the cost centres.

3. 2023/24 data has been revised with updates to Standard Labour Requirements and weighting methodology. For more details see 6.1 Survey details.

Farm Business Income can be considered as comprising income from four different parts of the business: agriculture, agri-environment, diversification and the Basic Payment Scheme. These are known as cost centres. However, as the methodology to allocate costs to each of the cost centres involves a degree of estimation, results should be interpreted with caution. Details on the methodology can be found in the FBS technical notes and guidance.

Figure 3.2 Input cost breakdown by farm type in England, 2024/25

Source: Dataset Table 6

Figure note: The legend is presented in the same order as the bars.

Figure 3.2 shows a breakdown of the key components of overall input costs by farm type. A more disaggregated breakdown at the all farm level can be found in dataset Table 5.

Cereal farms

Compared to 2023/24, which, in real terms, saw the lowest level of income on cereal farms since 2015/16, average Farm Business Income increased by 20% in 2024/25 to £49,700 (dataset Tables 1.1 and 5.1). Higher net income from agri-environment activities, which more than doubled to £25,900 and diversification (particularly letting out of buildings), which rose by 28% to £32,600, more than offset losses on agricultural activities. Letting out buildings refers to receiving rent for farm buildings or land for purposes not connected with the farm business (this does not include income from tourist accommodation).

A 9% fall in agricultural input costs (dataset Table 5.3), chiefly driven by lower fertiliser costs, was not enough to offset a larger decrease in output from crop enterprises. Wet autumn drilling conditions particularly impacted winter sown crops and the cool, wet harvest also affected yields. Winter wheat output fell by just over a quarter with smaller crop areas and yields compounded by lower prices (Figure 3.3), the result of plentiful global supplies. Winter barley output was also lower while output from oilseed rape fell 27% despite increased prices, reflecting reduced average yields (Table 3.1 and dataset Table 11) and smaller average crop area.

Figure 3.3: Average wheat prices in England and Wales, March 2023 to February 2025

Source: Monthly Corn Returns

Table 3.1: Average crop yields, 2018 to 2024 (tonnes per hectare)

Crop	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Wheat (England)	7.8	9.0	6.9	7.8	8.6	8.1	7.2
Winter barley (England)	6.8	7.8	6.0	6.6	7.3	7.0	6.2
Spring barley (England)	5.0	6.4	5.4	5.6	5.9	5.1	5.4
Oilseed rape (England)	3.4	3.3	2.6	3.1	3.7	3.0	2.7
Potatoes (UK)	41.6	45.4	46.1	45.8	45.9	47.7	46.4
Sugarbeet (UK)	69.1	77.7	56.6	81.1	63.9	78.2	76.3

Source: Defra Agriculture in the UK, Cereal and Oilseed Production.

Table notes: Potato and Sugar beet yields are provisional for 2024.

Figure 3.4: Proportion of winter wheat produced by cost of production (in £ per tonne) in England, 2024 harvest

Figure notes:

1. The legend is presented in the same order as the bars.

2. 95% Confidence Intervals have been presented to show the range where the true value is likely to lie and provides an indication of the degree of uncertainty of the estimate.

Figure 3.4 shows the proportion of winter wheat grown in England for the 2024 harvest within different bands of production costs. Based on enterprise data from the Farm Business Survey, the average production cost for winter wheat was approximately £295 per tonne while the average selling price was around £189 per tonne.

Overall, crop output was 14% lower than 2023/24 and, as in 2023/24, cereal farms failed to make a positive return on agriculture with average losses increasing to £27,400 (Figure 3.1). When comparing farm performance groups (based on the ratio of outputs to inputs), only the highest 25% of cereal farms made a positive return from agriculture and, at £41,200, this was 17% lower than 2023/24. For medium performing farms average losses increased from £34,800 in 2023/24 to £38,400 in 2024/25. The bottom 25% of farms also saw their return from agricultural activities remain negative with losses increasing to £75,000 (dataset Table 7.2).

For cereal farms, the average delinked Basic Payment reduced by 24% to £18,600.

General cropping farms

Average Farm Business Income on general cropping farms rose by 3% in 2024/25 to £107,700 (Figure 3.1 and dataset Table 5.4). As with cereal farms, increased returns from the diversification and agri-environment cost centres were key contributing factors. Net income from diversification rose by 43% to £40,500, driven by food processing and retailing enterprises. On average, agri-environment activities generated £25,200, an increase of £13,800 compared to 2023/24.

Total crop output fell by 2% with small rises for peas and beans, sugar beet and other crops only partially offsetting larger decreases for winter wheat and barley. For sugar beet, the rise reflected a larger average crop area while for peas and beans improved yields were a factor. Output from oilseed rape also rose, mainly as a result of higher prices (Figure 3.5) and, on this type of farm, minimal reduction in average yield.

Figure 3.5: Average oilseed rape prices in England, March 2023 to February 2025

Sources: Farmers Weekly; Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

When analysed by performance bands (based on the ratio of outputs to inputs), lower performing farms saw an average loss on their agricultural activities of £54,000 although this was an improvement on 2023/24 when the average loss was £72,100 (dataset Table 7.4). As in 2023/24, this group failed also to make a positive return on their business as a whole, although average losses were considerably reduced (£9,900 in 2024/25 compared to a loss of £35,900 in 2023/24). Agricultural income fell by 67% for medium performers to £12,500, while for high performing farms the return on agriculture was 19% lower than 2023/24 at £123,200.

Mixed farms

On mixed farms Farm Business Income more than doubled to £58,000 in 2024/25 (Figure 3.1 and dataset Table 5.22) with income from diversification contributing most to overall income followed closely by agri-environment activities. Gains for food processing and retailing and other diversified activities more than compensated for a fall in output from tourism and, while associated diversification costs rose, it was to a lesser extent than output. At £24,300, the net contribution of the diversification cost centre was 18% higher than 2023/24. Agri-environment payments more than doubled to £22,800. At the whole farm level these factors combined led to an increase in output of 26%. Alongside this, the average delinked Basic Payment fell by 19% to £15,600.

In 2024/25, mixed farms again failed to generate a positive return on their agriculture activities although the average loss of £4,700 was a reduction compared to 2023/24. Crop output was 3% lower and an increase in livestock output of 53% (driven by pigs, eggs and cattle) was not enough to mitigate higher fixed and variable costs which rose by 21% and 14% respectively (dataset Table 5.24).

Horticulture farms

For horticulture farms, Farm Business Income fell by 1% to £52,700 in 2024/25 (Figure 3.1 and dataset Table 5.25).

Agricultural output rose by just over a quarter driven by increases across virtually all horticultural enterprises, particularly soft fruit and strawberries (139% increase) and glasshouse flowers, bulbs and nursery stock (dataset Table 5.26). However, agricultural costs rose to a greater extent than output, notably casual labour which more than doubled and contract costs which were 75% higher (dataset Table 5.27). This resulted in a return on agricultural activities of £28,100, which was 17% lower than 2023/24.

Output from diversified activities, often an important revenue stream for horticulture farms, fell by 12% with increased output from building rental only partially offsetting reductions for other enterprises (dataset Table 5.26). However, associated diversification costs reduced to a greater degree than output meaning that, overall, net income from the diversification cost centre was 6% higher than 2023/24 at £15,900. Income from agri-environment activities increased to £7,000 while the delinked Basic Payment was £1,800.

Chapter 4: Livestock Farms →