- The average farmer in the UK made £28,300 in subsidies last year, while making only £2,100 from agriculture. 1
- Across all farm types in England, the average Farm Business Income (FBI) increased by 12% between 2021/22 and 2022/23, reaching £96,100 per farm. The average net payment received was approximately £18,300, accounting for around 40% of the Farm Business Income. 23
- In 2022, the total direct payments to farmers in the UK decreased by £83 million (-3.0%) from 2021, to £3,213 million. The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments decreased by £222 million (-7.9%). 4
- Between 2014/15 and 2016/17, direct payments (under pillar one) made up an average of 9% of farm revenue or 61% of farm profits in England, although this figure is much higher for some sub-sectors, such as upland farms grazing livestock. 5
- A report from the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) estimated that 55% of the average farmer's income in the UK came from these EU subsidies. 6
In summary, the available data indicates that the average farmer in the UK receives a significant amount of their income from government subsidies, often in the range of £18,000 to £28,000 per year, which can account for a large proportion of their total farm income.