Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture, 2016

2.6 Size of holdings by farm type (Table C7)

Table C7 and chart 2.5 show that farm size distribution also varied within each farm type. The majority of specialist poultry (86 per cent), pigs (76 per cent), horticulture (73 per cent), forage (67 per cent) and mixed holdings (64 per cent) were below ten hectares in size. With the exception of mixed and forage, this trend is largely associated with the intensive nature of production among these farm types.

Chart 2.5: Specialist farm types by holding size, June 2015

* The 'Under 10' and '10-<20' categories have been combined for specialist dairy and unclassified holdings in order to prevent disclosure of individual holdings.

The majority of dairy (92 per cent), general cropping (62 per cent) and cereal (54 per cent) holdings were 50 hectares or greater in size, reflecting the tendency of activity in these sectors to be carried out by larger producers.

The distribution of cattle & sheep ( LFA) holdings by farm size also shows a varied mix, incorporating large, extensive holdings, small holdings and crofts. This tendency is largely determined by geography, with a tendency for smaller cattle & sheep ( LFA) holdings to be concentrated in the north-west and larger ones in the south-west.