Publication - Statistics

Results from the Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2026

Published: 8 October 2026
From: Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands, +1 more … Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs
Directorate: Environment and Forestry Directorate, +1 more … Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate
Topic: Farming and rural

Final results from the 2026 June Agricultural Census on land use, crop areas, livestock and the people working on agricultural holdings. Modular results on cattle housing, technology, feed supplements, and peatlands also included.

Part of

Agricultural census: results

Supporting documents

Most holdings have one person or related individuals legally responsible for them

Not all responses to the agricultural census provide legal responsibility details. Information in this section comes from 24,400 holdings.

Where legal responsibility is known, nearly all holdings (95%) had either one person or two or more related people with legal responsibility for the holding. These holdings accounted for 77% of agricultural land. Organisations had legal responsibility for land on 3.6% of holdings, representing 21% if the total agricultural land area. Further information on land use, livestock and workforce by legal responsibility is available in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 17: Percentage of holdings and land area of holdings by legal responsibility, 2026.

Stacked bar chart showing the percentage of holdings and land area of holdings by legal responsibility in 2026. Most holdings were managed by one person or two or more related individuals. Organisations accounted for a smaller share of holdings but a larger share of land area. Unrelated individuals represented a small portion of both holdings and land area.

Contact

agric.stats@gov.scot

Thanks for your feedback