Scottish farm business income: annual estimates 2015-2016

Introduction

Average Farm Business Income

Source: Table 1

Percentage of farms according to FBI/ FTE, relative to MAW

Source: Table 5

The Scottish Farm Business Income ( FBI) publication provides farm business level estimates of average incomes for the accounting year 2015-16, which relates to the 2015 crop year. Other financial indicators, such as productivity and financial strength, are also presented.

In 2015-16, the average FBI for businesses in the survey was £12,600, the lowest level over the six-year series. This represents a decrease of 48 per cent (£11,500) in real terms over the last year and a decrease of 75 per cent (£38,200) in real terms since 2010-11. When FBI is calculated without the addition of subsidy payments the value results in a loss of £25,500.

From the Farm Business Survey, 36 per cent of farm businesses made a loss and more than half of farm businesses (59 per cent) generated income roughly equivalent to less than the minimum agricultural wage ( MAW), per hour of unpaid labour. This latter figure has increased by 11 percentage points compared to the previous year.