Average farm business income for horticulture drops by 38%
20th November 2024
Average farm business income for horticulture has fallen by 38%, Defra has revealed.
According to Defra’s latest data, farm incomes in 2023/24 fell for all types of farm, with the exception of specialist pig or poultry enterprises.
Farm business income on horticultural farms between March 2023 and February 2024 has dropped by 38%, to £59,100.
There were falls in net income across all cost centres, including agriculture, agri-environment, the Basic Payment and diversification, however, reduced income from diversified activities, which is often an important source of revenue for this type of farm, had the biggest impact.
Lower output from building rental, renewable energy and other diversified activities contributed to a 67% fall in income from diversification, which was £14,600 in 2023/24 compared to £43,500 in 2022/23.
Even though agricultural costs fell by 25%, this was not enough to mitigate a much bigger fall in output, with the exception of top fruit, output fell for most key horticultural enterprises, most notably for outdoor flowers, bulbs and nursery stock, Defra said.
Agri-environment payments fell by 31% to £2,600, while the Basic Payment was 48% lower than 2022/23 at £1,700 (this equated to a 9% decrease when calculated on a per hectare basis).
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