Why has farming income increased by £1.6bn despite challenges?
6th June 2025
Farming boss has explained why the total income from farming has increased by £1.6 billion in 2024 and said that the figures are a “clear signal” for the government to “step up”.
The UK government has just released the estimate for Total Income from Farming (TIFF) in the UK for 2024. TIFF is the income to those who own businesses within the agricultural industry.
It is the total profit from all UK farming businesses on a calendar year basis. It measures the return to all entrepreneurs for their management, inputs, labour and capital invested.
According to DEFRA, UK TIFF in 2024 was £7.7 billion, which marks an increase of £1.6 billion (+26.4%) from 2023. Following price volatility in 2022 and 2023, this large increase in TIFF was driven by a decrease of £1.2 billion in the value of inputs coupled with a £0.4 billion increase in the value of outputs.
Total livestock output in 2024 increased by £1.1 billion (+5.6%) from 2023, to £20.1 billion, driven by increases in the values of eggs (+35.2%), beef (+9.3%) and milk (+5.5%).
In 2024, total crop output decreased by £0.6 billion (-5.3%) from 2023, to £11.7 billion. This decrease was driven by substantial falls in the values of wheat and barley (-26.9% and -14.1% respectively) as well as oilseed rape (-30.8%).
The decrease in value of these key crop commodities was driven by poor yields caused by wet weather conditions in key planting periods and a continued decrease in cereal and oilseed prices after the exceptionally high prices seen in 2022, DEFRA said.
Intermediate consumption decreased by £1.2 billion (-5.5%) from 2023, to £20.9 billion in 2024. This decrease was primarily driven by a 26.3% decrease in the value of fertilisers following a substantial fall (-20.5% from 2023) in the price of fertilisers after historically high prices in 2022 and 2023.
READ MORE: ‘Madness’ of IHT reforms revealed, says farming community
READ MORE: DEFRA to review unfair practices in crops supply chain
‘Farmers need certainty to plan and invest’
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said that the headline figure of an improvement to farm profitability is welcomed and marks “a step forward”, however, he also pointed out that the data hides the “significant volatility” seen in recent years and the variable returns across different farming sectors.
Mr Bradshaw explained: “This data, showing the year-on-year changes in farming incomes, is shaped by a complex mix of markets, weather and 2023 having the highest input costs in decades because of the tragic situation in Ukraine – and these figures once again show just how exposed farmers across the four countries of the UK are to these pressures.”
The NFU president said that arable farmers have been hit particularly hard due to falling global prices and extreme weather, and while some sectors like beef and sheep have recovered slightly.
“It comes after years of unsustainable returns. Set against historically low incomes, these modest gains are a step forward, but they are fragile. Without consistent policy support and market stability, they won’t last.
“It’s positive to see that input costs have fallen by 5% compared to last year. However, they are still far above where they were before the global geopolitical shocks we have seen in recent years,” he continued.
Mr Bradshaw added that DEFRA’s figures have also shown the importance of the upcoming spending review.
“Farmers need certainty to plan and invest, and a long-term UK agriculture budget of £5.6bn would help underpin our nature-friendly food production and support rural communities.
“Farmers are resilient and adaptable, but they cannot shoulder all the risk on their own. This is a clear signal that government must step up and put food security at the heart of its priorities,” he concluded.
READ MORE: Industry doubts England’s ability to deal with animal disease outbreaks
Read more political news.
