Scottish farm business income: annual estimates 2024-2025
Farm business level estimates of average incomes for 2024-2025. An Accredited Official Statistics publication for Scotland.
First published: 26 March 2026.
Last updated 21 April 2026.
Agricultural activity is profitable for the average farm
Total average farm income is calculated from the following income streams:
- agricultural activity
- contracting activity
- diversified activity
- support payments
Average incomes from support payments, contracting and diversified activities vary less than the size of the profit margin from agricultural activity by farm type.
The average farm in 2024-25 made a profit of £45,600 from support payments and grants, £4,600 from contract farming and £8,100 from diversified activities.
Farms on average made a profit of £500 from agricultural activity. This is net profit from an average agricultural output of £273,700 and agricultural input costs around £273,200. This is only the second time agricultural activity is profitable in over a decade.
Dairy and general cropping are the only farm types to make a profit on average from agricultural activity.
Livestock farms commonly make a loss on average from agricultural activity. This continued in 2024-25. Lowland cattle and sheep farms made the largest loss of £48,100 from agricultural activity in 2024-25.
Figure 7: Breakdown of contributions to farm income by farm type, 2024-25.