AgricultureID

Country agriculture profile · Europe & Central Asia

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has a temperate, largely grassland-oriented agricultural sector, with an arable heartland concentrated in the drier east of England producing wheat, barley, oilseed rape, sugar beet and potatoes, and extensive sheep and cattle grazing across the wetter west and the uplands of Wales, Scotland and northern England. Following its departure from the European Union, the UK sits outside the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and has been replacing area-based subsidies with domestic schemes that pay farmers for environmental land management and other public goods. Agricultural policy and support are devolved, differing across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The sector combines large, efficient lowland arable and intensive livestock operations with upland farms that depend on grazing livestock.

Stable overview + dated statisticsUpdated: 2026-07-12

Farming systems (stable overview)

Climate zones

  • Temperate oceanic
  • Cool maritime (north and uplands)

Agroecological zones

  • Eastern lowland arable
  • Western and northern grassland
  • Uplands and rough grazing

Dominant crop systems

  • Rainfed winter wheat, barley and oilseed rape in the drier east (East Anglia, eastern England)
  • Sugar beet and field vegetables in eastern England
  • Potatoes across eastern and central areas
  • Oats and spring cereals in cooler northern areas
  • Grassland-based systems dominating the wetter west and uplands

Major livestock systems

  • Extensive sheep on the uplands of Wales, Scotland and northern England
  • Beef and dairy cattle on lowland and western grassland
  • Intensive pig and poultry production
  • Lowland mixed grazing

Irrigation: Agriculture is predominantly rainfed; supplemental irrigation is concentrated in the drier east for potatoes and high-value field vegetables.

Latest verified data

Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.

Latest available agricultural indicators, with year and unit
IndicatorValueUnitYear
Agricultural land70.31% of land area2023
Arable land24.98% of land area2023
Cereal yield7,137.9kg per hectare2023
Cereal production22,047,420metric tons2023
Crop production index94.33index (2014–2016 = 100)2022
Livestock production index105.24index (2014–2016 = 100)2022
Agriculture value added0.64% of GDP2024
Employment in agriculture(est.)0.87% of total employment2024

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Commodity market data

5,239 official observations across 62 commodities. Figures are shown on each commodity page with the unit, status and release its source published.

Commodities with official market series for this country
CommodityMetrics recorded
AlmondsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
AvocadosExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
BananasExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Barley GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Black PeppercornsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Buckwheat GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cashew NutsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
ChickpeasExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cocoa BeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cotton LintBeginning stocks, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Export value, Import value
CottonseedExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
CowpeasExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
CucumbersArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
DatesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dried ChilliesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dried Tobacco LeafExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dry BeansIndex value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dry Bulb OnionsArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dry PeasArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Flax FibreArea harvested, Production, Yield, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
FlaxseedArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh ApplesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh BlueberriesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh OrangesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh PineapplesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh StrawberriesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh SweetcornExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh TomatoesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Green CoffeeExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
GroundnutsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
HazelnutsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Head CabbageArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Hemp FibreExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Hen EggsProduction, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Jute FibreExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
LentilsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Maize GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Milled RiceExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Millet GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Oat GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Pigeon PeasExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
PistachiosExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
RapeseedArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Raw Cow MilkProduction, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Raw WoolProduction, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Rice PaddyExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Rye GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Safflower SeedExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sesame SeedExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sorghum GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
SoybeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sugar BeetArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
SugarcaneExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sunflower SeedExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sweet PotatoesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Tea LeafExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Triticale GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Vanilla BeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
WalnutsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Ware PotatoesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Wheat GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
YamsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value

How these figures are recorded

Cereal yield over time

201220182023
United Kingdom — Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Bars start at zero.
Show data table
United Kingdom — Cereal yield in kg per hectare by year
Yearkg per hectare
20126,215.1
20136,631.6
20147,696.5
20157,980.9
20167,022.6
20177,229
20186,788.7
20197,946
20206,241
20216,966.8
20227,720.1
20237,137.9

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Derived indicator

Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 35.5 % of agricultural land (2023)

Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (25.0) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (70.3). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.

Documented crops & livestock

Agricultural institutions

  • DEFRA — Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the UK government department for agriculture and the environment.
  • AHDB — Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, a statutory levy board providing sector data and research.
  • Rothamsted Research — One of the world's oldest agricultural research institutions.

Agricultural authorities

Official public bodies verified against government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with them.

  • Department for Environment, Food & Rural AffairsDepartment

    The United Kingdom’s ministerial department for the environment, food, farming and fisheries. Defra states that it is responsible for improving and protecting the environment, and that it supports the UK’s food, farming and fishing industries. It is supported by a large number of agencies and public bodies, several of which hold the operational regulatory functions.

All agricultural authorities

Data coverage & limitations

Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.

What AgricultureID has indexed for United Kingdom
LayerStatusWhat is held
Agricultural authoritiesCovered1 record
Official registriesCovered2 records
Compliance requirementsCovered1 record
Support programmesNot yet indexed—
Biosecurity listingsNot yet indexed—
Variety registrationsCovered11 records
Input authorisationsOfficial source not in a usable form—The United Kingdom’s official pesticide register was found and read in a browser. It publishes its records through a search form and offers no bulk file, so they cannot be indexed here without scraping the search interface.
Extension resourcesCovered24 records
Market statisticsCovered358 records
Soil survey observationsNot yet indexed—
Border requirementsCovered2 records
Farm economics figuresNot yet indexed—
Climate, drought and water valuesCovered32 records

This page describes what AgricultureID has indexed, not what exists. A layer shown as not yet indexed means nobody has looked, and never that the thing is absent in that country. How coverage is worked out.

  • Statistics are dated, versioned and periodically revised; always read the year and dataset version rather than treating a figure as current.
  • National statistical definitions (for example utilised agricultural area and livestock categories) differ from those of other countries, limiting direct cross-country comparison.
  • Since leaving the EU the UK has diverged from the Common Agricultural Policy, and agricultural support is devolved, so policy and payments differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  • Post-Brexit changes to trade, subsidies and data collection create discontinuities that reduce comparability with earlier years and with EU members.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]World Bank Open Data — World Development Indicators (opens in a new tab)

    World Bank

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]AHDB — Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (opens in a new tab)

    Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)

    High

    Cited for: UK levy-board sector data and market analysis

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United Kingdom
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  3. [3]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Global agriculture and food production context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12