Farm Business Survey
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Farm Business Survey Data Dashboard

Explore anonymised farm business data from across England. This interactive dashboard brings together key results from the Farm Business Survey (FBS), helping farmers, researchers, policymakers, industry experts and students understand trends in farm performance over time.

What you can do here

  • View single-year results or three-year averages dating back to 2005/06.
  • Filter results by farm type, size, region, performance band and more.
  • Explore key metrics including Farm Business Income (FBI), outputs and costs, diversification, and productivity.
  • Interact with charts – hover to see details, toggle series on/off, zoom in, and download graphs or datasets.

How to use this dashboard

  • Hover for details: Move your cursor over a chart to see values, labels, and data points.
  • Toggle series: Click items in the legend to show or hide them. Double-click to isolate one series.
  • Zoom & pan: Use the toolbar in the top-right corner of each chart to zoom in, move around, or reset the view.
  • Download charts: Save any graph as an image (PNG) using the camera icon.
  • Explore data tables: Under each chart you can view and download the background data.
  • Confidence intervals: Some results display error bars, showing a plausible range based on the survey sample.

For further details on methodology, classifications, and series breaks, visit the background page.

Explore more FBS resources

  • Read FBS Reports – in-depth analysis of sectors including dairy, pigs, poultry, crops, horticulture, and grazing livestock.
    Go to FBS Reports
  • Explore official publications on GOV.UK – the primary source for government statistical releases, methodology notes, and historical datasets.
    Visit the Farm Business Survey on GOV.UK
  • See how your data shapes policy – learn how anonymised FBS results are used by Defra and government to design support schemes and inform agricultural policy.
    Read about Policy Impact

Can’t find what you need?

If you can’t find the data you’re looking for, or would like to suggest a new dataset or breakdown, please let us know.

Get involved

Farmers are at the heart of the survey. By joining, you’ll receive a free confidential benchmarking report and contribute to shaping agricultural policy.

Single year data

View results for individual survey years (from 2005/06 onwards). Single-year data shows year-to-year changes, which may include some natural volatility due to weather, markets, and other factors.

When to use it: Single-year data is useful if you want to see the impact of a specific year or event (for example, extreme weather or changes in policy).

Farm Business Income by cost centre

What is Farm Business Income (FBI)?

FBI is a measure of the financial return a farm business makes after paying for all costs.

  • For most farms, it represents the return to the farmer, their family, and all the capital they’ve invested in the business (including land and buildings).
  • For companies, it represents the return to shareholders on their capital investment.

Although FBI is similar to net profit, it is calculated differently. For example:

  • Stocks are valued at market price (not cost of production).
  • Depreciation is based on replacement cost (not historic cost).

Why is it important?

FBI is widely used to assess the impact of agricultural policies or regulations on farm businesses.

Breaking it down by cost centres

FBI can be split into four parts of a farm business:

  • Agriculture – farming enterprises such as crops and livestock
  • Agri-environment – income from schemes that support environmental outcomes
  • Diversification – non-farming activities that use the farm business’ resources, such as tourism or contracting
  • Direct payments – previously the Single Payment Scheme, then in 2015 the Basic Payment Scheme and since the start of the Agricultural Transition period (2020) it is now being phased out

As allocating costs across these areas involves estimation, results should be interpreted with some caution.

For full details, see the FBS Technical Notes and Guidance.

View and download the data
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Total Factor Productivity

What is Total Factor Productivity (TFP)?

TFP measures how efficiently farms turn inputs (such as land, labour, feed, and fertiliser) into outputs (such as crops, milk, or meat).

  • A higher TFP means resources are being used more efficiently to produce outputs.
  • It’s a key measure of the overall economic performance of agriculture.

How it’s calculated

The same methodology used to produce the official UK TFP statistics has been applied to Farm Business Survey data for England. This allows comparisons at a national and farm-type level.

Results for specialist pig, poultry, and horticulture farms are not shown here because sample sizes are too small to be reliable.

For UK-wide figures, see Total Factor Productivity for the UK agricultural industry.

View and download the data
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Variable Explorer

The Variable Explorer lets you dig into the detailed data collected by the Farm Business Survey.

  • You can view breakdowns of many different variables across multiple years.
  • Results can be downloaded for further analysis.
  • Per-hectare values are based on the total area of the farm, which includes:
    • Utilised agricultural land
    • Woodland
    • Other non-agricultural areas (e.g. buildings, roads, water, household gardens)

Please note: Some of the results available here are detailed outputs used primarily by researchers and analysts.

View and download the data
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Annual Results

Three-year averages

View results based on rolling three-year averages. Averaging smooths out short-term fluctuations and provides a clearer picture of longer-term trends in farm performance.

When to use it: Three-year averages are better for spotting consistent patterns and understanding underlying trends across the sector.

Three-year averages: Farm Business Income by cost centre

What is Farm Business Income (FBI)?

FBI measures the financial return a farm business makes after costs:

  • For family farms, it’s the return to the farmer, their family’s labour, and all their invested capital (land, buildings, machinery).
  • For companies, it’s the return to shareholders on their capital.

Although similar to net profit, FBI is calculated differently (e.g. stocks are valued at market price, depreciation at replacement cost).

Why use three-year averages?

Looking at three-year rolling averages smooths out short-term volatility (like weather or market shocks) and gives a clearer picture of longer-term performance.

Breaking down FBI by cost centres

FBI can be grouped into four areas:

  • Agriculture – crops and livestock
  • Agri-environment – schemes supporting the environment
  • Diversification – non-farming activities such as tourism or contracting
  • Direct payments – e.g. Single Payment Scheme, Basic Payment Scheme (now being phased out)

As costs are estimated across these areas, results should be treated with some caution. See the full FBS Technical Notes and Guidance for details.

View and download the data
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Three-year averages: Performance ratios

What are performance ratios?

Performance ratios compare how efficiently farms turn inputs (like labour, feed, fertiliser) into outputs (like crops or milk).

Top 25% vs Bottom 25%

This chart shows the difference between the highest and lowest performers.

  • A value of 2 means the top quarter of farms are, on average, twice as efficient as the bottom quarter.

Why it matters

This comparison highlights how much room there is for improvement in efficiency and profitability across the sector.

View and download the data
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Three-year averages: Input costs and outputs

How Farm Business Income (FBI) is calculated

FBI = Farm Business Outputs – Farm Business Input Costs

  • Inputs = resources used (feed, labour, machinery, fertiliser, etc.)
  • Outputs = value of crops, livestock products, by-products, forage, and other farm income

Why results differ across farms

  • Costs vary due to management approaches, efficiency of input use, or farm system design.
    • Example: two beef herds of the same breed may need very different feed levels depending on group size.
  • Outputs vary due to design, yields, pests, or disease.
    • Example: Bovine Viral Diarrhoea can cut milk yields by 10–20%.

Per-hectare values are based on the farm’s total area, including farmland, woodland, buildings, and other land.

View and download the data
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Three-year averages: Diversified activities

Why diversification matters

Farming incomes are changing, and many farmers boost their business by diversifying. This can:

  • Increase farm income
  • Improve long-term business resilience
  • Create jobs and support rural economies

Examples of diversified activities

  • Letting buildings – renting out farm buildings for non-farming use
  • Processing/retail – selling produce directly or processing food
  • Sport & recreation – e.g. fishing, shooting, equine activities
  • Tourism & catering – holiday cottages, B&Bs, camping, cafés
  • Renewable energy – solar or wind income paid into the farm business
  • Other – any other non-farming income stream

Note: Diversified income only counts here if it flows directly into the farm business, not through a separate company.

View and download the data
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Background Information

About the Farm Business Survey (FBS)

The Farm Business Survey (FBS) provides insight into the financial and physical performance of farm businesses in England. This page explains how the data is collected, what it represents, and how to interpret the results.

If you’re mainly here to explore charts and reports, you don’t need to read all of this detail — but it’s useful if you want to understand the methodology behind the survey.

For full technical notes and guidance, visit the Farm Business Survey Technical Notes on GOV.UK.

About the survey

  • The FBS is carried out every year through face-to-face interviews with farmers.
  • The sample includes all farm types and all regions of England.
  • Results are weighted so they represent the wider farming population (all farms with at least £21,000 of Standard Output).

Changes to sample size

  • Around 1,780 farms were included in 2005/06.
  • The largest sample was in 2010/11 with around 1,920 farms.
  • Covid-19 restrictions reduced the 2019/20 sample to around 1,660 farms.
  • In 2022/23, the sample was around 1,360 farms due to contractual changes.
  • The latest year (2023/24) has a sample size of around 1,370 farms.

Accuracy and reliability

As the FBS is based on a sample rather than every farm in England, results include some uncertainty.

  • We show 95% confidence intervals (error bars) to indicate the likely range for each result.
  • Narrower intervals mean greater confidence in the result; results with wider intervals should be treated with more caution.

Understanding farm classifications

Accounting years

Results are based on farm accounts ending between 31 December and 30 April, giving consistency in harvest years and subsidies.

On average, the results cover a March to February fiscal year, with the most recent year shown ending in February 2024. Fiscal years are shown in YYYY/YY format, for example, the period of 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2024 is shown as 2023/24.

Farm size

Farms are grouped by labour requirement rather than land area:

  • Spare/Part-time: Less than 1 full-time worker
  • Small: 1 to 2 full-time workers
  • Medium: 2 to 3 full-time workers
  • Large: 3 to 5 full-time workers
  • Very Large: 5 or more full-time workers

Farm types

Farms are classified based on what they mainly produce:

  • Cereal
  • General cropping
  • Dairy
  • Lowland grazing livestock
  • LFA grazing livestock
  • Pigs
  • Poultry
  • Horticulture
  • Mixed

Standard Outputs (SOs)

  • Since 2010/11, farm types have been classified using SOs — the average financial value of output per hectare or per animal.
  • The Standard Output coefficients are updated every few years to reflect changes in agriculture.
  • Before that, Standard Gross Margins (SGMs) were used.

Series breaks

There are breaks in the series at 2009/10, 2012/13, 2017/18 and 2022/23. Before 2009/10, Standard Gross Margins (SGM) were used to classify farms and to set the lower threshold for the survey. Since 2009/10, Standard Outputs have been used, which are based on a multi-year average. From 2009/10 to 2012/13, this was a 5-year average centred on 2007, hence this typology is called 2007SO. In 2017/18, the typology was updated to centre on 2010, and the 2010SO was used until 2017/18, at which point it was updated to centre on 2013. The current typology, based on a 5-year average centred on 2017, has been used since 2022/23.

Results for the series break years are calculated using both of the relevant typologies to allow for comparison.

SLR updates

Farm business size is classified using the Standard Labour Requirement, which represents the normal labour requirement for all the farm's cropping and livestock activities under typical conditions. The most recent update was in 2009, which was based on data from the 2004/05 to 2007/08 surveys.

Where to find more information

Need help?

If you have questions about the survey methodology or how to interpret results, please contact the FBS team and we’ll be happy to help.