The report cites Scottish Government figures which show that without taking into account government subsidy payments, farms in Scotland made on average just £500 in profit last year (2024 – 2025), following an average loss of £13,900 the previous year (2023-2024). For many smaller farms their reality is one of desperately low incomes, debt, long working hours and poor well-being.
The report argues that Scotland will fail in its ambition to build a resilient food system if farmers and food producers are unable to make a decent living from their work. The post-Brexit subsidy system in Scotland continues to hand out the majority of its subsidies on a per-hectare basis, meaning that small-medium farms receive little to no government support. Farms under 50 hectares make up 73% of the total number of farms in Scotland.
The report cites Scottish Government figures which show that without taking into account government subsidy payments, farms in Scotland made on average just £500 in profit last year (2024 – 2025), following an average loss of £13,900 the previous year (2023-2024). For many smaller farms who receive little financial backing from the government to top up their earnings (particularly those in the horticulture sector who have historically been excluded from government support packages), their reality is one of desperately low incomes, debt, long working hours and poor well-being.