Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    • October 2023
    • Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    • September 2023
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
  • FREE Email Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
Twitter LinkedIn
Podcast
Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    1. May 2025
    2. April 2025
    3. March 2025
    4. 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    5. February 2025
    6. January 2025
    7. December 2024
    8. November 2024
    9. October 2024
    10. September 2024
    11. 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    12. August 2024
    13. 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    14. July 2024
    15. 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    16. June 2024
    17. 2024 Innovation supplement
    18. Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    19. May 2024
    20. April 2024
    21. March 2024
    22. February 2024
    23. January 2024
    24. December 2023
    25. November 2023
    26. Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    27. October 2023
    28. Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    29. September 2023
    Featured

    Poultry Business – May 2025 issue

    By Chloe RyanMay 15, 2025
    Recent

    Poultry Business – May 2025 issue

    May 15, 2025

    Poultry Business – April 2025 issue

    April 8, 2025

    Poultry Business – March 2025 issue

    March 12, 2025
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
Poultry News
Business

The £900 million farm income wipeout

Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanJune 12, 20194 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

Farming incomes were hit by dramatic weather last year, with feed costs forced skywards, and other inputs rising. But egg and poultry is riding the storm thanks to growing demand.

Farmers earnt nearly £1 billion less from farming in 2018 than the year before, newly published figures from Defra predict.

In May, the government released the first estimate of Total Income from Farming (TIFF) for the United Kingdom for 2018. The figures show total income from farming fell by £929 million to £4,697 million, a 17% decrease on 2017. 

The main contributors to this decrease are the rise in animal feed (+£509 million), goods and services (+£358million), fertiliser (+£116 million), and energy and labour costs (+£110 million each). 

Gross value added at basic price, which identifies agriculture’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), fell by 6% (£626 million) to £9,586 million. In 2018 agriculture added 0.51% to the national economy.

Despite the overall fall, the poultry sector bucked the trend driven by higher consumption of poultry meat and eggs, although for egg producers this was offset by lower prices. The value of eggs rose by £17 million to £641 million, entirely volume driven as throughput at egg packing stations rose by 5.2% putting downward pressure on price (-2.3%).

Poultry meat rose in value by £208 million to £2.62 billion, the highest recorded value. Continued expansion of the sector to meet demand boosted production (+5.7%) with price 2.8% higher than the previous year.

The cold, wet spring followed by the dry, hot summer contributed to lower yields of key crops, however better prices helped offset production falls. The value of total livestock output rose by 3% to £14.8 billion.  The value of intermediate consumption is estimated to have risen by 8% to £17,065 million. In general, all costs were higher, particularly fuel, feed and fertiliser costs.

Total income from farming per annual work unit (AWU) of entrepreneurial labour (farmers and other unpaid labour) fell by 19% in real terms to £23.9 billion.

Costs rose with animal feed, other goods and services, energy and fertiliser showing the largest increases. The cost of animal feed rose by £509 million to £5.6 billion, a combination of increased volumes and feed price.  The extreme weather conditions led to greater demand by the livestock sector, and the higher cereal prices kept the annual average feed price up on the year.

Energy costs rose by £113 million to £1.3 billion as global oil prices continued to rise in 2018, pushing up energy costs. However, weather conditions and efficiency savings helped reduce usage on farms overall. Fertiliser costs rose by £116 million to £1.3 billion; this was a consequence of the higher oil price as usage was down. Other goods and service costs rose by £358 million to £3.6 billion reflecting the increased demand for straw by the livestock industry.

Incomes have generally followed an overall upward trend from the year 2000. However, in spite of high levels of production, TIFF fell sharply in 2015 driven by lower commodity prices and a less favourable exchange rate. In 2016 the exchange rate improved but a poor harvest and continued low commodity prices kept income low.  In 2017, TIFF increased to the highest point in 20 years as a result of a favourable combination of a weaker pound, strong commodity prices and high levels of production.

In 2018 incomes fell from this high level in spite of the total value of production remaining high.  The value of production increased slightly with lower crop yields being more than offset by strong commodity prices.  However, the price of key inputs increased sharply pushing up the costs of production. 

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Previous ArticleAnalysis: The fight for a fair future for egg producers
Next Article DSM launches poultry feed ingredient Balancius in the EU
Chloe Ryan

Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

Read Similar Stories

Business

Poultry revenue up 20.3% at Cranswick

May 21, 20252 Mins Read
Business & Politics

New appointment for Elanco pig and poultry team

May 20, 20251 Min Read
Business & Politics

Welcome for EU deal that paves the way for SPS agreement

May 19, 20252 Mins Read
Latest News

Total UK poultry meat production falls

May 22, 2025

EU broiler price rises again

May 22, 2025

Poultry revenue up 20.3% at Cranswick

May 21, 2025
Sponsored Content

Maintain stable and continuous coccidiosis control amidst stocking density reductions

November 1, 2024

How to improve your forecasting accuracy

October 1, 2024
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

  • Farmers Weekly
  • AA Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • Pig World

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.