Farms in numbers..

[thefarmersdaughter]

I'm trying to find the numbers of farms in the UK, cant find a figure earlier than 2009, any one can help with this? It was 300,000 then..

 

[thefarmersdaughter]

Later than 2009 even...!

 

[llamedos]

If there is nothing in this set of statistics, email DEFRA stats dept, it depends on what you are classing as "farms"

https://www.gov.uk/government/stati...ltural-industry-in-england-and-the-uk-at-june

 

[thefarmersdaughter]

Looking for working farms.. preferably not smallholdings. Thanks for that!

 

[llamedos]

I think due to a holding with stock having to be registered, smallholdings may well be lumped in with larger holdings in final stats.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Looking for working farms.. preferably not smallholdings. Thanks for that!

Don't people work on small holdings , what size makes you a small holding ? ,

 

[thefarmersdaughter]

Yes, not saying they don't. I suppose they could be included, I think there's a fine line between a farm and a smallholding. I'm looking for farms that supply the food industry more than anything!

 

[Chris F]

Aren't the RPA working on the definition of a farm for who can claim under their new planned system?

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Yes, not saying they don't. I suppose they could be included, I think there's a fine line between a farm and a smallholding. I'm looking for farms that supply the food industry more than anything!

We had a small holding that had 40 cows 30 pigs and 10000 hens and early spuds on 30 acres , started on 10 acres

 

[roscoe erf]

Don't people work on small holdings , what size makes you a small holding ? ,

1000 acres

 

[Walterp]

I'm trying to find the numbers of farms in the UK, cant find a figure earlier than 2009, any one can help with this? It was 300,000 then..

Guy Smith came up with a figure for working farms (90,000?) and I'd suppose that came courtesy of the NFU's stats department?

 

[Penmoel]

How many SAF forms is it submitted in Wales, around 15,000 I think, would think 300,000 is a bit too high

 

[llamedos]

Yes, not saying they don't. I suppose they could be included, I think there's a fine line between a farm and a smallholding. I'm looking for farms that supply the food industry more than anything!

I would say a high percentage of smallholding do just that.

 

[Guy Smith]

This is a topic I would like to see someone look into in detail.

From memory

There are 220,000 SPS claimants in the UK but 30,000 are below 5ha and will be struck out under the latest reform. But even with the figure for 5 ha plus units there will be a lot of multiple claims involved so that needs refining.

The NFU has 55,000 members and reckons it covers 80% of English and welsh farming by acreage ( nb NFU membership peaked in the 1950s at 220,000) and was still reckoned to be 80%.

I suspect if you did things anecdotally I.e. if we looked around us and asked how many farm businesses there are that have 90% of their turnover from agriculture) the figure would shrink down to below 50,000.

I once asked a leading tractor manufacturer how many people there were buying tractors in the UK and they put the figure at less than 25,000.

I suspect its an endless analysis as there are different definitions of 'farmer' and many who farm while doing something else.

What would be useful would be to establish an agreed definition for analysis and monitor how it rises and falls.

How many farmers have we lost in the last two generations - i.e since the 2WW - between half and three quarters?

 

[Cowabunga]

I haven't got the exact figures to hand but I believe that something like 90% of UK farm output is from 30% of holdings. It might therefore follow that 70% of holdings/farms could disappear and nobody would really notice in terms of economic activity.

 

[Brisel]

DEFRA stats website used to be very good but has been a casualty of the budget cuts. https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-affairs&publication_filter_option=statistics

http://www.ukagriculture.com/statistics/farming_statistics.cfm

 

[Brisel]

Try page 16 of this: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa.../267619/structure-jun2013final-UK-19dec13.pdf