Welsh farm incomes see drop in 2023-24

The latest Farm Business Survey for Wales, released by the Welsh government, has highlighted a 39% drop in farm incomes across all sectors for 2023-24.

The war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis are both said to have had a considerable impact on costs for Welsh farms.

See also: Steep farm income fall questions ability to pay IHT

Farm incomes dropped across all sectors, with the exception of cattle and sheep on lowland farms.

Estimated dairy farm income fell by 59% to £67,500 – drastically reducing from an all-time high in 2022-23.

The data also showed a drop in income for cattle and sheep on less favoured area farms, falling by 9% in 2023-24 to £22,000.

This, the report highlights, is partly attributed to a modest decrease in average farm business output (down 2% in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23), while farm business costs only fell by 1%.

These factors combined resulted in the downward shift in the average income.

Average income for seriously disadvantaged area sheep farms fell by 11% (17% in real terms) in 2023-24. This is the second year of decreases. Income stood at £25,700 and was at the lowest level since 2018-19.

Cattle and sheep in lowland farms, however, reported an increase of 23% to £23,000 for the same year.

Reality check 

“The latest statistics on farm business incomes in Wales demonstrate the economic reality of attempting to maintain levels of profitability against a backdrop of increasing costs and red tape,” said Farmers’ Union of Wales president Ian Rickman.

The union highlighted that more than 20% of Welsh farms reported a negative income, according to the survey.

“At the very least, this demonstrates the need for the future Sustainable Farming Scheme to offer an equal level of economic stability, currently provided through the Basic Payment Scheme,” added Mr Rickman.