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Scottish Economic Report: March 2004
3.4 Agriculture and Fisheries
Final results of the June 2003 Agricultural Census were issued in October 2003. Sheep numbers continued their long-term decline, falling by 0.4 per cent on 2002, whilst cattle numbers moved against their long-tem decline, increasing slightly by 0.6 per cent per cent on 2002. The number of regular staff employed also fell, by 2.3 per cent to 21,530, 11.5 per cent down on employment in 1993. Employment levels for casual and seasonal staff however, continued to grow, rising by 7.5 per cent to 4,240.
In January SEERAD published forecasts of aggregate farm income in Scotland in 2003. These figures show that aggregate incomes have risen by 29 per cent since 2002 (or 26 per cent once inflation is taken into account). Total Income from Farming (TIFF) is business profits plus income to workers with an entrepreneurial interest (farmers, partners, directors, their spouses and most other family workers). It is the preferred measure of aggregate income, conforming to internationally agreed accounting principles, required by both UK national accounts and Eurostat. The forecast TIFF in 2002 is 471 million with average TIFF per person employed in farming estimated at almost 16,000. The TIFF figures are the highest since 1996, and represent the fifth straight year of growth, albeit from a low base.
Also published in January were Net Farm Income (NFI) results by type of farm. NFI is defined as the returns to the farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour, and for the tenant-type assets invested by them in the business. It is before the deduction of any interest payments. The results show that average NFI across all farms for Scotland for 2002/03 was around 7,300, compared to 10,500 in 2001/02. The forecast average NFI for 2003/04 is around 17,000. The trend in NFI over the last three years highlights that farm incomes are sensitive to market conditions.
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