Scottish Farm Incomes March 30, 2015 12:00 am The Scottish Government has released figures on average profits by business type (Farm Business Income) for the 2013 crop year (2013-14). These can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/03/9632. The figures show an average fall in FBI for ‘all farm types’ of 2%, to £30,534 in 2012/13 however the fortunes varied significantly based on farm type, details for the main farm types can be seen in the table below. SCOTTISH FARM BUSINESS INCOMES – Source: Scottish Government Farm Type Farm Business Income (£/farm) % Change 12/13 – 13/14 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 Cereals 61,394 23,726 23,259 -2% General Cropping 51,812 57,311 36,216 -37% Mixed 50,108 34,250 29,903 -2% Dairy 83,893 45,929 79,651 +73% LFA Cattle & Sheep 40,084 20,610 25,634 +24% Lowland Cattle & Sheep 34,338 17,948 24,181 +35% All Farm Types 46,500 31,125 30,534 -2% The results represent the lowest average FBI in the last five years. However, most livestock farms saw increased income with the exception of LFA Specialist Beef farms which saw an 8% fall. Falling subsidies and outputs have not outweighed the fall in input costs. With poorer crop prices and weather conditions less-than-ideal at planting, General Cropping and Cereal farms saw incomes fall. Income from diversified activities increased by around 5% in 2013/14. Scotland is also following the trend in seeing a widening gap between the best and worst performing; some farms are making considerable losses yet some are growing in profitability, a story echoed in other parts of the UK.
