Coherence and comparability

This section covers how consistent these statistics are over time and how comparable they are with those of other regions and countries.

Coherence

Data presented as a timeseries are considered to be consistent enough over time to make reasonable comparisons. Data sources and methodology used to produce total income from farming estimates change over time to include more accurate data where available and adapt to changes in the availability of data. Metadata is available alongside data to make sure users are aware of these changes and commentary on impact is included in this methodology report.

Comparability

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in England, the Welsh Government (WG) in Wales and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland routinely publish similar results:

Aggregate agricultural accounts - GOV.UK

Aggregate agricultural output and income | GOV.WALES

NI agricultural incomes | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Defra produce UK level results by combining results at UK level with detailed results from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These results are then used to estimate detailed England results.

Similar agicultural economic accounts are also produced across Europe by member states of the European Commission (EC). More information about methodology and the statistics are available at:

Overview - Agriculture - Eurostat

Users interested in comparing results between countries should evaluate the relevant methodologies of sources used.