Average EU farm income continues to increase

The latest EU Farm Economics Overview (FEO) shows that average EU farm income grew to reach EUR 28,800 per worker in 2021. The increase over the last decade can be attributed to a faster growth of the production value than the cost growth, leading to a higher total income per farm, and to a decrease in the number of farm workers.

The FEO also finds that nearly all types of farming showed an increase in income compared to 2020 (13.6% on average), with the exception of pigs and poultry. However, despite falling prices and higher costs, the income of farms specialising in pigs and poultry remained the highest (EUR 43,400 per worker) compared to other agricultural sectors.

Regarding income differences, the highest farm incomes are still to be found in the north-western regions of the EU, while the lowest are in the Eastern part. The analysis also found that a gender gap remains for almost all member states, sectors, and sizes of farms, though it is reducing over time. Finally, concerning income support from the CAP, the brief found that direct payments support farms in smaller economic size classes more proportionally.

The findings are based on data harvested annually from a sample of about 80,000 representative farms in the EU, and visualized in the FEO dashboard on the Agri-food Data Portal.

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