Agriculture and farming are vitally important for the United Kingdom as the sector constitutes a key supply source for the country’s food consumption needs. As of 2022, just over
in the UK. This figure has slightly decreased in the past few years and peaked at around 18.8 million in 2017. The agricultural sector contributed more than 12.1 billion British pounds in
(GVA) to the national economy in 2021.
Crop farming in the UK
With more than 4.5 million hectares of
land area used for crops, the United Kingdom produces a variety of agricultural crops for domestic consumption, but also for global export. In 2022, the value of
wheat production in the United Kingdom reached a new high of almost 4.06 billion British pounds, while
fresh vegetable production reached around 1.77 billion pounds in value.
Livestock farming in the UK
The number of
dairy cows in the United Kingdom has not fluctuated much in the last decade, hovering around 1.8 million dairy cows. The biggest number is mainly concentrated in
farms in England, where the number of dairy cows reached 1.1 million in 2022, compared to around 175,000 on farms in Scotland. Nationwide, the
total amount of slaughtered cows and adult bulls reached around 655,000 adult cattle in 2021.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
