INCOMES from commercial farms in Scotland have increased by around 94 per cent, according to new government figures, reversing the decline from the previous year, with incomes recovering to 2014 levels.
Average farm business income rose this year by around £12,800 to £26,400 which shows that the industry has regained some of the decline since 2011. Farm income had decreased 46 per cent (£22,900) in real terms until last year.
The figures are based on annual audits of nearly 500 commercial farms in Scotland called the Farm Business Survey (FBS). The report focuses on the 2016 crop year. Other findings from the analysis show that farms spent less on raw materials and other inputs in 2016-17, such as cattle feed and labour costs, compared to the previous year. In contrast for outputs, such as revenue from livestock and crops, there was an improvement on the average output values across all farm types.