Characteristics of top-performing farms 2024

See what the top quartile of farms do differently to others, which is earning them more. The insights provide a guide for farmers looking to improve their own financial performance.

The top 25% of beef and lamb, cereals and oilseeds, and dairy farmers typically make between £50,000 and £120,000 more than the bottom 50% of farmers.

Can farmers in the bottom 50% reach the level of the top performers? Yes they can, and it is largely within their control.

In partnership with The Andersons Centre, we have published an update to the 2018 characteristics of top-performing farms report. The analysis covered England only, where policy changes are more advanced than in the devolved nations. However, the findings are equally applicable across the UK.

The results are empowering and are intended to help farmers raise the performance of their farm business, regardless of current profitability. The factors that most influence performance and are within farmers’ control include:

• Business costs
• Levels of contracting
• Debt
• Participation in agri-environment schemes
• Agricultural diversity
• Yields and output
• Attitude to change

The point of this work is not to tell farmers how to farm but to suggest some ways of providing a strategic framework to change for the better. Why should people change? There is always a way to improve, and, simply, life is too short not to.

Visit the sector pages below to view the key results for Beef & Lamb, Cereals & Oilseeds, and Dairy: