The Scottish Government

Crops

The total area of combine harvested crops on main and minor farms decreased by almost 6 per cent in 2005. The area of wheat fell by 5 per cent to 96,600 hectares and the area of barley dropped by just over 5.5 per cent to 299,000 hectares. The area of oilseed rape fell by over 9 per cent to 35,800 hectares and the area put into obligatory set aside decreased by over 7 per cent to 70,100 hectares.

The area of potatoes on main and minor farms dropped by 4 per cent to 28,300 hectares. Crops grown for stock feeding rose by less than 1 per cent to 25,400 hectares.

The area of grass and rough grazing on main and minor farms were little changed in 2005. The total agricultural area was 6,115,200 hectares in 2005 of which about 64 per cent was accounted for by rough and common grazing. Farm woodland decreased in 2005 to a total (main and minor farms) of about 238,000 hectares.

Livestock

The total number of cattle on main and minor farms rose slightly in 2005 to 1.980 million. The dairy herd increased by nearly 1 per cent to 199,000 while the number of dairy heifers in calf for the first time decreased slightly. The beef herd rose marginally in 2005 to 497,700. The number of beef heifers fell by 2,600 in 2005 to 48,150. 'Cattle under 1 year' decreased by over 1 per cent to 581,200.

The number of sheep on main and minor farms fell by 58,000 in 2005 to just under 8 million. The number of ewes for breeding remained unchanged at 3.2 million while the number of lambs increased slightly to 3.86 million.

The pig breeding herd decreased by 10 per cent in 2005, falling to 44,100. The total pig herd fell by 1,100 to 470,700.

The poultry flock decreased by over 7 per cent to 14.7 million in 2005, chiefly as a result of a fall of 1.5 million broilers and other table birds.

Labour

The regular agricultural labour force fell by 3 per cent to 20,540. Full-time staff decreased by nearly 5 per cent while part-time staff remained unchanged. Casual and seasonal staff rose by nearly 10 per cent to 4,630.

The number of occupiers working on main and minor farms decreased by less than 1 per cent to 28,140. The number of spouses working on the farm also fell by less than 1 per cent to 14,310.