Published as part of Defra’s total income from farming figures – which measure the total profit from all UK farming businesses during the past calendar year – this drop translates to a fall of £1.1 billion from 2022 giving an overall total income of £4.5 billion for England.
The fall follows a spike in 2022 figures, driven by high global costs pushing up commodity prices following the war in Ukraine.
Farming’s overall contribution to England’s economy also took a dip of £1 billion or 8.7% compared with 2022.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said the last few years had demonstrated the “volatile environment” in which farmers and growers are trying to make a living.
“We have moved from high commodity prices and soaring production costs in 2022 caused by the tragic situation in Ukraine, to much lower income figures in a weather-affected 2023, as commodity prices fell but production costs remained high,” he said.
“Since the survey ended, we have seen record levels of rain and flooding the NFU President added, which has contributed to a huge drop in confidence among farmers, and put a real question mark over this year’s harvest.”
New figures have revealed a ‘dramatic decline’ in cereals and oilseed rape planted this year, down by 5% in 2024 to the lowest level for over two decades with the total wheat area estimated to be the second smallest since 1981.
Mr Bradshaw added: “While farmers are well used to dealing with variation year on year, the volatility we’ve seen in the last few years isn’t sustainable. Food security is national security, and that’s why we need the new government to be prioritising food production in its policy-making.”
