Other aspects of farm profitability

Assets and debt impact farm businesses. Net worth (assets minus debt) estimates the overall value of a business. The average farm was estimated to have a net worth of £2.03 million in 2024-25, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year.

The average debt ratio was 9.1% in 2024-25, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points from 2023-24, and the lowest value since 2014-15. This indicates how much of the average business’s assets are financed by debt.

Farms may also earn income from off-farm jobs that do not contribute to farm business income. The average farm earned £11,900 from off-farm income in 2024‑25, a decrease of 25% from the previous year. This is the lowest off-farm income estimate in our time series and is 24% lower than the previous ten-year average of £15,600.

Another way of looking at farm profitability is whether farm income is enough to pay unpaid labour the minimum agricultural wage (MAW, £11.19 per hour). In 2024-25, 50% of farms could afford to pay the MAW, more than the previous year.

Figure 11: Other aspects of farm profitability, 2023-24 and 2024‑25. 2024-25 prices.