June census highlights drop in farm labour force

There were 8,000 fewer people working in UK agriculture in 2023 compared with year earlier levels, according to Defra’s June census.

The total number of people working on commercial agricultural holdings in the UK dropped by 1.7% on the year to stand at 462,074 on 1 June 2023.

This is the lowest number of people in the agricultural workforce since records began

The number of farmers, business partners, directors and spouses dropped by 0.9% year-on-year, while the figure for regular employees, salaried managers and casual workers declined by 3.3%.

Split by country, England accounted for 63.3% of the total workforce, Scotland represented 14.4%, and Wales and Northern Ireland made up about 11% each.