Skip to content

Whole Farm Benchmarks Tool 2020-21

The Scottish Farm Business Survey is completed annually to accurately measure the performance of the main farm types found in Scotland. Check how your own business compares to the benchmarks below.

Download the full 2020 Data Set here

Want to know more about how benchmarking can help your business? This guide helps you:

Improve your farming finances in 30 minutes

View the overview, acknowledgements and glossary
Whole Farm Benchmarks

Dairy - 2020 Crop Year

Physical Farm Size
Under 100ha100 - 150haOver 150haUpper 25%*
Number of farms1381910
Crops:
Hectares per Farm
Wheat0.630.3
Barley0.92.55.51.5
Oats & mixed cereals
Potatoes
Potato land let
Oil seed rape
Other cash crops
Other cash crops land let
Set-aside and fallow
Roots and arable fodder1.55.511.511
Grass principally for Hay0.53.52.2
Silage46.348.5119.693.9
Grazing26.158.796.875.9
Rough grazing0.86.321.214.2
Total farm area76.2122261.1199
Total adjusted area75.5117.2248.9189.8
Total forage area73.9114.7240.4188
Proportion of rough grazing %1587
Livestock:
Average numbers per farm
Dairy cows125123293221
Rearing cows151018
Cattle over 2 years24123416
Cattle 1 to 2 years46648373
Cattle under 1 year6997177132
Ewes41063694
Other sheep111024599
Units per farm
Total grazing livestock units197233444352
GLU's per forage hectare2.721.81.9
%
Dairy cows as % of GLU63536663
* Upper 25% based on FBI as a % of Output

Dairy - 2020 Crop Year

Physical Farm Size
Under 100ha100 - 150haOver 150haUpper 25%*
Number of farms1381910
Size in hectares (adjusted)75.5117.2248.9189.8
Number of dairy cows125123293221
Farm Output from:
£ per Farm
Milk295,500257,956649,036502,135
Cattle45,21980,19298,30471,551
Sheep and wool1,61315,8835,37413,619
Other livestock154-71015
Cereals1,3302,1158,8781,685
Other crops2,0011,9904,5555,735
BPS & coupled payments~16,68929,33248,36138,140
LFASS1,0942,3821,543
Sundry farm income2,7327,8367,4077,969
Diversification surplus2,492-2,3687,131515
Output367,730394,023831,529642,897
Variable Costs:
Concentrates130,895107,682212,071139,985
Roughages14,3968,91216,50911,572
Keep taken1,2553,3282,6973,661
Vet and medicine12,36012,74322,81614,852
Sundry livestock expenses24,30923,49051,48336,720
Seeds7112,3133,2531,494
Fertiliser and lime11,50518,44334,46225,743
Crop sprays8191,2422,891921
Other crop expenses1,9771,4773,8152,327
Total Variable Costs198,227179,630349,997237,275
Farm Gross Margin169,503214,393481,532405,622
Fixed Costs:
Paid labour11,18537,20378,03464,615
Power and machinery58,53646,02298,74069,586
Overheads21,89726,54951,89240,235
Depreciation43,25545,61886,62261,695
Rent and interest14,6224,61927,81716,812
Total Fixed Costs149,495160,011343,105252,943
Farm Business Income (FBI)20,00854,382138,427152,679
* Upper 25% based on FBI as a % of Output
~ Includes payments from the Basic Payment Scheme, Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme and Scottish Upland Sheep Support

Dairy - 2020 Crop Year

Physical Farm Size
Under 100ha100 - 150haOver 150haUpper 25%*
Number of farms1381910
Size in hectares (adjusted)75.5117.2248.9189.8
Number of dairy cows125123293221
Farm Output from:
£ per adjusted hectare
Milk3,9132,2012,6072,645
Cattle599684395377
Sheep and wool211362272
Other livestock2
Cereals1818369
Other crops27171830
BPS & coupled payments~221250194201
LFASS9108
Sundry farm income36673042
Diversification surplus33-20293
Output4,8703,3623,3413,387
Variable Costs:
Concentrates1,733919852737
Roughages191766661
Keep taken17281119
Vet and medicine1641099278
Sundry livestock expenses322200207193
Seeds:920138
Fertiliser and lime152157138136
Crop sprays1111125
Other crop expenses26131512
Total Variable Costs2,6251,5331,4061,249
Farm Gross Margin2,2451,8291,9352,138
Fixed Costs:
Paid labour148317313340
Power and machinery775393397367
Overheads290227208212
Depreciation573389348325
Rent and interest1943911289
Total Fixed Costs1,9801,3651,3781,333
Farm Business Income (FBI)265464557805
* Upper 25% based on FBI as a % of Output
~ Includes payments from the Basic Payment Scheme, Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme and Scottish Upland Sheep Support

Dairy - 2020 Crop Year

Physical Farm Size
Under 100ha100 - 150haOver 150haUpper 25%*
Number of farms1381910
Size in hectares (adjusted)75.5117.2248.9189.8
Number of dairy cows125123293221
Farm Output from:
% of output
Milk80667779
Cattle12201211
Sheep and wool412
Other livestock
Cereals11
Other crops1111
BPS & coupled payments~5766
LFASS
Sundry farm income1211
Diversification surplus1-11
Output100100100100
Variable Costs:
Concentrates36272622
Roughages4222
Keep taken11
Vet and medicine3332
Sundry livestock expenses7666
Seeds:1
Fertiliser and lime3544
Crop sprays
Other crop expenses1
Total Variable Costs54454137
Farm Gross Margin (FGM)^46555963
Fixed Costs:
Paid labour39910
Power and machinery16121211
Overheads6766
Depreciation12121010
Rent and interest4133
Total Fixed Costs41414040
Farm Business Income (FBI)^5141923
* Upper 25% based on FBI as a % of Output
~ Includes payments from the Basic Payment Scheme, Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme and Scottish Upland Sheep Support
^ If a positive FGM or FBI is not achieved, a zero is recorded in the above table

Dairy - 2020 Crop Year

Physical Farm Size
Under 100ha100 - 150haOver 150haUpper 25%*
Number of farms1381910
Livestock:
Number per farm
Dairy cows29246740
Heifers in calf1423
Stores over 1 year20665052
Stores 6-12 months244
Calves44304338
Fat cattle4137
Store lambs
Fat lambs1012345115
Fat sheep740225
Livestock:
£ per head
Dairy cows630676707629
Heifers in calf1,2321,6441,2501,646
Stores over 1 year897987894965
Stores 6-12 months654924857956
Calves211252137167
Fat cattle1,0361,2351,324
Store lambs73.78
Fat lambs81.892.7787.890.98
Fat sheep97.2104.47112.68104.29
Livestock Purchases
Dairy - 2020 Crop Year
Physical Farm Size
Under 100ha100 - 150haOver 150haUpper 25%*
Number of farms1381910
Livestock:
Number per farm
Dairy cows273030
Heifers in calf710711
Stores over 1 year
Stores 6-12 months
Calves11
Store lambs232012
Livestock:
£ per head
Dairy cows1260163611501177
Heifers in calf1357131112851244
Stores over 1 year880
Stores 6-12 months
Calves278278
Store lambs61.0932.8432.84
* Upper 25% based on FBI as a % of Output

Dairy - 2020 Crop Year

Physical Farm Size
Under 100ha100 - 150haOver 150haUpper 25%*
Number of farms1381910
Yield:
Tonnes per hectare
Wheat7.78.87.7
Barley4.16.66.26.5
Oats and mixed cereals
Potatoes
Oil seed rape
Crop output:
£ per hectare
Wheat1,2931,4931,293
Barley525842789845
Oats and mixed cereals
Potatoes
Potato land let
Oil seed rape
Other cash crops
Other cash crops land let
Average prices
(current crop year sales):
£ per tonne
Wheat
Barley140140
Oats and mixed cereals
Potatoes
Oil seed rape
Milk and grazing Livestock Output
Dairy - 2020 Crop Year
Physical Farm Size
Under 100ha100 - 150haOver 150haUpper 25%*
Number of farms1381910
Milk production:
Litres
per farm1,059,541967,0552,244,8061,725,345
per cow8,4987,8607,6717,810
per forage hectare14,3328,4329,3399,178
%
% winter milk49494949
pence
Price per litre27.8826.6728.9129.1
£
Milk output per cow2,3702,0972,2182,273
Grazing livestock output per forage hectare4,6313,0873,1323,124
* Upper 25% based on FBI as a % of Output