Average farm incomes in the European Union (EU) grew between 2007 and 2018, reaching €35,300 per farm and €22,500 per annual working unit (AWU)* in 2018.

However, significant differences can be observed across the EU and based on types of farming, sex, age and level of training of farm holders and managers.

Those are among the key findings of the EU Farm Economics Overview report published recently by the European Commission.

The report provides an overview of key economic developments in European farms up to 2018, based on data collected for the farm accountancy data network (FADN).

An increase in the value of agricultural output, both for crops and livestock production – by 34% and 36%, respectively – has led to a farm-income increase over the analysed period.

In terms of income per AWU, the highest average income was recorded in 2018 at €22,500, a slight increase of 0.3% compared to 2017 and 41% higher than in 2007.

Regarding income differences across the EU, the highest income per AWU was in the northwest of the EU, while the lowest was in the eastern part.

Agri training
The report found that farms run by managers with basic or full agricultural training had higher income per AWU (+59%) than those with managers that have only practical experience. This applied to almost all EU countries, types of farming, and farm sizes at EU level.

Farms specialising in granivores, wine, horticulture and dairy had an income per AWU above the EU average in 2018.

In contrast, it remained below average for permanent crop farms (excluding wine producers), farms specialising in grazing livestock (excluding dairy) and mixed farms.

Farm incomes lower for women

The analysis also found that, on average, farms run by women had a lower income per AWU – 38% lower than those run by men.

But this also depended on the type of farming, and farm size. For example, women run, on average, smaller farms, in terms of both size and output.

The income gap by sex concerns all types of farming, with the biggest gap observed in dairy and field crop.

In terms of age at EU level, farms run by managers aged 40 years’, or younger, have the lowest income on average, followed by managers above the age of 60.

However, for a vast majority of EU countries, farms run by managers above 60 have the lowest income.

This difference, at national level, is mainly due to the fact that the majority of EU young farmers are in countries with lower-than-average income levels.

For example, 47% of young farmers represented in the FADN are located in Poland and Romania.

*Refers to full-time equivalent employment – the total hours worked divided by the average annual hours worked in full-time jobs in the country.