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Scotland's Chief Statistician today released the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture and the Agriculture Facts and Figures Pocketbook.

The main purpose of the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture is to provide underlying data and more in-depth analysis of previously released statistics on Farm Incomes and the June Agricultural Census and to provide a wider range of related statistics.

Agriculture Facts and Figures contains key Scottish Agricultural statistics along with selected UK and EU comparisons, which is available in a small hard copy pocketbook.

The content of the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture has been re-designed following a review of Agricultural Statistics publications. In particular, there is a greater emphasis on commentary and graphics. This compendium now fully incorporates the following publications, which are no longer produced separately:

• Scottish Agriculture Output, Input and Income Statistics
• Farm Business Income Statistics
• Scottish Agricultural Census Summary Sheets by Geographical Area

Headline results of Total Income From Farming (TIFF) for 2010 were published on January 27, 2011. The following points provide examples of the type of additional analysis contained in Section A of the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture, with the focus on trends over the past 10 years between 2001 and 2010:

• Over the past 10 years there has been a general upward trend in TIFF, which has increased by £284 million (85 per cent), from £334 million in 2001 to £618 million in 2010. TIFF increased by £122 million (25 per cent) between 2009 and 2010, following decreases of £84-£85 million in each of the previous 2 years. The level of TIFF in 2010 (£618 million) was lower than the recent peak in 2007 (£665 million)
• Over the past 10 years the output value from agricultural businesses has increased by £851 million (55 per cent) and has been accompanied by an increase of £151 million (33 per cent) in the value of payments and subsidies. Over the same period, input costs have risen by £637 million (62 per cent) and other costs (including labour, interest payments and rent) have increased by £70 million (20 per cent). The level of consumption of fixed capital has remained fairly constant, decreasing by £11 million (4 per cent)
• Over the past 10 years, beef meat production has increased, going up by 33,000 tonnes (22 per cent). Meat production has decreased for other livestock, with poultry meat showing the largest decrease of 51,000 tonnes (35 per cent). The volume of mutton and lamb has gone down by 16,000 tonnes (22 per cent) and pigmeat by a similar volume of 15,000 tonnes (23 per cent)
• Over the past 10 years the average price for clean finished sheep has increased, going up by £2.14 /kg (118 per cent), with more than half of the increase taking place since 2008. This price trend has more than offset the reduction in mutton and lamb meat production and contributed to the increased value of sheep output
• Clean finished cattle prices have increased by £1.00 /kg (56 per cent) since 2001, with over half the increase (£0.56 /kg) occurring between 2007 and 2008. This price trend, along with an increasing trend in beef production has contributed to the large increase in the value of cattle output. The average price fell slightly between 2009 and 2010 by £0.09 /kg (3 per cent) but was countered by an 8,000 tonne (5 per cent) increase in beef production
• Over the past 10 years cereal production has ranged from 2.54 million tonnes in 2002 to 2.94 million tonnes in 2008. However, the 2010 harvest was just 66,000 tonnes (2.5 per cent) higher than the 2001 harvest
• Cereal output prices were relatively stable between 2001 and 2006. In 2007, prices increased substantially, with barley showing the biggest increase from £77 per tonne to £135 per tonne (up 74 per cent). The average output prices remained high in 2008, with wheat showing a further increase of £21 per tonne (18 per cent). Average prices dropped quite markedly in 2009 before increasing again in 2010. These average prices reflect global trends in supply and demand of cereals
• Compared to 2001, the quantity of fertiliser usage in 2010 was 92,000 tonnes (25 per cent) lower, however the average price was £289 per tonne (105 per cent) higher. Over this period average prices started to increase in 2004, accelerating to a peak of £969 per tonne in 2009. In 2010, prices fell sharply by £405 per tonne (42 per cent) accounting for all of the £116 million decrease in the costs of fertilisers and lime
• Over the period 2001 to 2010 the net worth of Scottish agriculture has nearly tripled from £11.7 billion to £34.2 billion. This is primarily because of a large rise in the value of land and buildings over that period, which has more than tripled from £10.5 billion in 2001 to £32.3 billion in 2010; although most of this rise has occurred in years from 2007 to 2010
• TIFF per annual work unit (AWU), for those with an entrepreneurial interest in the farm business, has increased by £11,595 (105 per cent) from £10,995 in 2001 to £22,590 in 2010. This mostly reflects the 85 per cent increase in TIFF over this period, but also the 10 per cent decrease in entrepreneurial labour

Headline results of Farm Business Income (FBI) from the 2009/10 Farm Accounts Survey were published on 27th January 2011. The following points provide examples of the type of additional analysis contained in Section B of the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture, with the focus on 2009/10 and changes since 2008/09:

Average figures per farm for 2009/10 show that:

• Average Farm Business Income (FBI) in 2009/10 was £34,400, a decrease of £4,900 (12 per cent) from 2008/09. This overall decrease was driven by large falls in the incomes of General Cropping, Specialist Cereal, Dairy and Mixed farms, whilst FBI increased for all other livestock farm types. Trends in FBI between 2008/09 and 2009/10 are most closely related to trends in TIFF between 2008 and 2009, which fell by 15 per cent
• Overall, the decrease in FBI in 2009/10 was caused by a reduction in output of £2,805 (2 per cent) and an increase in input costs of £8,125 (6 per cent), outweighing the increases in subsidies and payments of £5,417 (12 per cent) and income from diversified activities of £608 (20 per cent)
• The large rise in inputs was caused mainly by increases in the average cost of fertiliser, machinery depreciation and labour. Fertiliser increased by £3,119 (22 per cent) from £13,909 in 2008/09 to £17,028 in 2009/10. This reflects the large rise in fertiliser prices over this time period. Machinery depreciation increased by £2,681 (16 per cent), reflecting the increase in the value of these assets. The cost of labour increased by £1,106 (11 per cent), while the cost of feed and fuel remained stable
• As a percentage of FBI, overall subsidy and payments were 143 per cent in 2009/10, compared to 111 per cent in 2008/09. Subsidy and payments were higher than FBI for all farm types, with the exception of Dairy farms. In other words, without subsidy and payments the average income for 7 out of the 8 farm types would have been negative. As a percentage of FBI, subsidy and payments were highest for Cereal farms (261 per cent) and General Cropping farms (259 per cent) and lowest for Dairy farms (73 per cent)
• Around 12 per cent of farms overall had a negative FBI, which ranged by farm type from 4.3 per cent for Specialist Sheep (LFA) farms and 4.6 per cent for Specialist Beef (LFA) farms to 30.1 per cent for Cereal farms. Around 28 per cent of farms recorded an FBI of £50,000 or more. This ranged from around 45 per cent of Dairy farms to 9 per cent of Cereal farms
• On average, those with an entrepreneurial stake in the farm business, carried out 1.45 full time equivalent (FTE) work on the farm. This ranged from 1.19 FTE for Specialist Cereal farms to 1.98 FTE for Dairy farms
• FBI per unit of FTE farm work for those with an entrepreneurial stake in the farm business averaged £23,740 and ranged from £12,843 for General Cropping farms to £29,456 for Cattle and Sheep (LFA) farms and £29,635 for Dairy farms
• There was a 5 per cent increase in total assets to £978,754 while total external liabilities increased by 11 per cent to £104,151. This resulted in a 5 per cent increase in net worth to £874,603, from £835,341 in 2008/09. The average total external liability represents 11 per cent of average total assets. External liabilities as a percentage of total assets ranged from 9 per cent for Cereal farms to 15 per cent for Lowground Cattle and Sheep farms
• The average diversified income for those farms engaged in diversified activities was £7,916 in 2009/10, compared to £7,692 in 2008/09. In 2009/10, 46 per cent of farms in the survey recorded at least one diversified activity

Final results from the 2010 June Agricultural Census along with 10 year trends were published on December 16, 2010. The following points provide examples of the type of additional analysis contained in Section C of the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture. The focus is on 2010 geographic analysis including comparisons with other parts of the UK as well on distributions by farm size, livestock populations and other measures such as Standard Labour Requirements (SLRs):

In 2010:

• Total crops and fallow land in Scotland (572,131 hectares) made up 12 per cent of the UK total (4.8 million hectares). The following crops in Scotland accounted for much higher proportions of the UK total; Spring barley (242,364 hectares or 45 per cent) and potatoes (31,377 hectares or 23 per cent). Conversely, the following crops accounted for much lower proportions of the UK total: Oilseed rape (36,107 hectares or 5 per cent), wheat (111,436 hectares or 6 per cent), orchard and soft fruit (1,962 hectares or 6 per cent)
• Scotland has 18 per cent (1.83 million) of the UK's share of cattle and 22 per cent (6.75 million) of sheep compared to lower proportions of pigs (9 per cent or 409,287) and poultry (9 per cent or 14.59 million)
• Grampian accounts for the largest proportion of barley (40 per cent) and oilseed crops (35 per cent) in Scotland while Tayside has the largest area of wheat (25,935 hectares or 23 per cent of the national total)
• Tayside has the majority of the land used for orchard and soft fruit (75 per cent or 1,472 hectares) and the majority of land used to grow vegetables for human consumption (53 per cent or 8,687 hectares). Just under half of casual and seasonal agricultural staff in Scotland (48 per cent) were employed in Tayside, with a large number supporting harvesting of these crops
• Dairy cows totalled 184,683 in June 2010 of which three quarters were located across Dumfries & Galloway (73,272 or 40 per cent), Ayrshire (42,177 or 23 per cent) and the Clyde Valley (24,296 or 13 per cent). By contrast the largest numbers of beef cows, which totalled 456,881, were concentrated in Grampian (92,535 or 20 per cent), Dumfries & Galloway (85,029 or 19 per cent), Highland (50,361 or 11 per cent) and the Scottish Borders (43,702 or 10 per cent)
• The majority (57 per cent) of dairy cows were in herd sizes of 150 or more, totalling 105,841. A further 46,240 (25 per cent) were in herd sizes of between 100 and 149, with the remaining 32,602 (18 per cent) in herd sizes less than 100
• The largest proportion (30 per cent) of beef cows were in a herd size of between 50 and 99 cows, totalling 136,949 cows and a further 127,794 (28 per cent) were in herd sizes of 150 and more. There were also 88,809 (19 per cent) in a herd size of 100 to 149 and 74,951 (16 per cent) in a herd size of 20 to 49
• There were 6.75 million sheep in Scotland at 1st June 2010. Areas with highest numbers of sheep were the Scottish Borders (1.17 million or 17 per cent of the total), Dumfries and Galloway (1.00 million or 15 per cent), the Highlands (870,553 or 13 per cent), Tayside (626,372 or 9 per cent) and Grampian (604,292 million or 9 per cent)
• There were 2.64 million breeding ewes in Scotland in June 2010, with the majority (1.49 million or 56 per cent) in flock sizes of 500 or more and 711,178 (27 per cent) in flock sizes or 1,000 or more. These larger flock sizes were mostly located in the South East and South West
• 7 per cent of Dairy holdings have a Standard Labour Requirement (SLR) of less than 1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and 65 per cent have an SLR of 3 or more. General Cropping (59 per cent) and Mixed (51 per cent) farm types are the only other two farm types with the majority of holdings above 1 SLR. Farm types with the highest proportion with less than 1 SLR are Specialist Grass and Forage (99 per cent), Specialist Poultry (93 per cent), Specialist Pig (87 per cent) and Horticulture (86 per cent). However, it should be noted that holdings with more than 1 SLR for farm types such as Specialist Pig, Specialist Poultry and Horticulture account for a large proportion of output in these sectors due to their highly concentrated production.

The Agriculture Facts And Figures Pocketbook provides an overview of the key Scottish Agriculture statistics along with selected UK and EU comparisons.

The following points relate to 2010 unless otherwise stated:

• The total value of agricultural output from Scotland was £2.4 billion, representing 11.7 per cent of UK and 0.8 per cent of EU27 agricultural output
• Agricultural output, measured by GVA (Gross Value Added) was 0.9 per cent of total Scottish GVA in 2009, which was higher than England and Wales (both 0.5 per cent) and lower than Northern Ireland (1.0 per cent).
• Land designated as 'Less Favoured Area' makes up 85 per cent of agricultural land in Scotland, which is the highest proportion across the four countries of the UK; Wales (80.5 per cent), Northern Ireland (70.5 per cent) and England (16.5 per cent)
• Total livestock (cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry) contribution to Scottish agricultural output was 41.3 per cent in 2010, which is proportionately higher than the UK (35.3 per cent) and EU27 contributions (23.6 per cent)
• In Scotland, 39 per cent of agricultural holdings in 2010 were smaller than 5 hectares in size. This compares to 70 per cent in EU27 in 2007

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