The latest estimated from the Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs shows that the total income increased by £1.084 billion to £5.567 billion.

In real terms, after adjustment for the effect of inflation, the total income from farming rose by £851 million or 18 per cent.

Defra says that this represents the best performance for the agricultural industry since the mid-1990s.

The total income from farming per annual work unit (AWU) of entrepreneurial labour - farmers and other unpaid labour - is estimated to have risen by 16 per cent in 2011 to £30,000 in real terms.

Over the longer term, total income from farming per Annual Work Unit (AWU) of entrepreneurial labour has performed better than total income from farming owing to a decline in the number of farmers and other unpaid workers, the Defra report says.

Further Reading You can view the full report by clicking here.