Agriculture in Sussex

On Tuesday 25 October 2022 a debate on agriculture in Sussex is scheduled in Westminster Hall.

The following Library briefings may be useful:

• Farm funding: implementing new approaches – House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
• The effect of the war in Ukraine on UK farming and food production – House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
• The importance of agricultural and county shows to rural Britain – House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
• Recruitment Support for Agricultural Workers – House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)

The following points are the key statistics that form this debate pack:

Land: In 2021, 3% of England’s agricultural holdings (3,145) and 2% of England’s total farmed area (223,000 hectares) were in Sussex. The average farm size was 87 hectares in the South East (including London), which was larger than the England average of 85 hectares.

Crops: In Sussex in 2021 there was 220,071 hectares of farmed land. 27% of this farmed land was cereals (59,320 hectares), 14% general cropping (15,067hectares) and 3% horticulture (5,559 hectares).

Livestock: Of the England total in 2021, the South East (including London) had 1.6% of cattle (76,700), 2.3% of sheep (341,000), 1.1% of pigs (46,231) and 0.6% of poultry (889,000).

Labour: The total agricultural labour in Sussex in 2021 was 10,497, this is 4% of the England total. On average, there were 3.3 people per farm, this is above the England average of 2.8 people per farm. 41% of people were full time, 36% part time, 8% casual and 6% salaried managers.

Farm Business Income (FBI): In the South East (including London), the average FBI was £51,192 for all types of farms in 2020/21. This was similar to England’s average FBI of £51,923.

Total Income from Farming (TIFF): In 2020, TIFF for England was £3,552 million. The South East (including London) contributed to 14% (£504 million) of the England TIFF (3,552 million). The average TIFF per hectare of farmed land in England in 2020 was £389. The South East (including London) was above this average at £443 TIFF per hectare.

Farm Funding: In 2020, the South East and London received £265 million in direct payments which accounted for 53% of the TIFF. This is similar to direct payments in England accounting for 59% TIFF. In East Sussex, West Sussex (SW) and West Sussex (NE), direct payments accounted for 69%, 69% and 58% of TIFF respectively.