Average Incomes by Farm Income Measure, Farm Type and Year
Next update expected:January 2027
Updates
- 22nd January 2026
This dataset was updated on the 22nd of January and the 2024-25 data has been added.
- 14th January 2026
- Dataset first published.
Main information
- Designation
- Official statistics
- Data provider
- Welsh Government
- Data source
- Farm Business Survey, Wales
- Time period covered
- April 2016 to March 2025
Overview
- Summary of dataset and variables
Excluded from all of these farm income measures are other sources of household income from outside the farm business (such as other employment of the farmer or spouse outside of the farm).
For non-corporate businesses, farm business income represents the financial return to all unpaid workers (farmers, spouses, non-principal partners and their spouses, and family workers) and on all their capital invested in the farm business (including land and buildings). For corporate businesses, it represents the financial return on the shareholders capital invested in the farm business. Farm business income includes some ‘notional’ items, such as depreciation of farm assets (eg machinery) and changes in the value of breeding livestock.
In essence, farm business income is the same as net profit, which as a standard financial accounting measure of income, is used widely within and outside agriculture. However, using the term farm business income rather than net profit gives an indication of the measure’s farm management accounting rather than financial accounting origins, accurately describes its composition, and is intuitively recognisable to users as a measure of farm income.
Net farm income is defined as the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant-type capital of the business. It makes allowances for rent (on a notional basis if the farmer is an owner-occupier) and for depreciation of assets. Interest payments, net of interest received, are included as a cost, as is hired labour. Crop and livestock valuation changes are excluded. Cash income is defined as the cash return to the group of people with an entrepreneurial interest in the business for their manual and managerial labour and on all their investment in the business.
- Data collection or calculation
Farms are randomly selected from the June Census returns to provide a representative sample of 550 Welsh farms covering the main farm types. Letters are sent to potential participants and if the farmer agrees, a convenient visiting date is arranged by phone. During this recruiting visit the farm area, farming system, opening stock numbers and bank details, as well as other relevant information is obtained.
- Statistical quality
Statistics produced from the same data by IBERS may differ in some respects from those in this statistical release. The differences arise largely from:
Weighting: the statistics in this release are weighted to be representative of the population (farm businesses with a Standard Output of at least €25,000). However, the statistics produced by IBERS are unweighted so are only representative of the farms included in the sample. Inter-year identical sample: Some of the statistics published by IBERS are for an inter-year identical sample (farms included in the sample for two years in a row). Not every farm is included in the sample for two years in a row. Therefore, the inter-year identical sample includes a smaller number of farms for each year, so the results for this group of farms may differ.
- Rounding applied
Average figures per farm have been rounded to the nearest £100, therefore rounded figures may not add up exactly to totals.
- Related reports
Published by
- Organisation
- Welsh Government
- Contact email
- stats.agric@gov.wales