FBI Results - Most Farm Types Realised An Increase In Income

Most farm types realised an increase in FBI for the year to February 2009.

Defra has released its latest Farm Business Income (FBI) results. The figures run for the period March to February, covering the 2008 harvest and including the 2008 SP.

Average farm business income for all farm types increased marginally to £50,900 compared to £49,800 (in real terms at 2008/09 prices) in 2008, although this figure masks a large variation between the different farm types.

The table illustrates the average FBI by farm type. Just about all the different farm types realised an increase for the year ending February 2009. This is due to an increase in the SP through a more favourable exchange rate compared to the previous year and, although input costs were a lot higher, the better prices for most commodities, particularly in the beef, lamb and pig meat sectors more than offset these.

Specialist pig enterprises saw the biggest year-on-year increase, albeit from a very low base. Firmer livestock prices have meant grazing livestock farms, both in the LFA and in the lowland saw large percentage increases compared to a year earlier, although again these were from a relatively low base. Firmer milk and cattle prices resulted in better FBI for dairy farms, with output more than offsetting the increased feed and fertiliser costs.

Of those farms which are cropped, cereals farms saw a fall in FBI while general cropping farms experienced a year-on-year increase. Both enterprises had a significant...