Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2018

Most of Scotland's land area is used for agriculture

LFA land in Scotland

The dark green areas on the map show naturally disadvantaged land in Scotland.

Agricultural land use 2018

Rough/common grazing – 3,624,000 ha

Grass – 1,306,000 ha

Crops and fallow – 574,000 ha

Other land – 679,000 ha

Total area on agricultural holdings : 6.2 million hectares

Scotland's land is mostly used for agriculture. An estimated 80 per cent of Scotland's land area is agricultural land, roughly 6.2 million hectares.

Scotland's land quality is generally quite poor. Over 5.73 million hectares of Scottish land is classified as "Less-Favoured Area" (LFA) land. LFA land has a natural disadvantage which makes agricultural production difficult.

Due to the poor land quality most of Scotland's agricultural land is used for livestock grazing. Over 3.6 million hectares of Scotland's land is rough or common grazing; a further 1.3 million hectares is grass. Only 574,000 hectares of Scottish land is used for crops or fallow.