Professor Paul Wilson hopes to inform policymakers with his research
A new study to examine farm household income and reliance on government subsidies has received funding and aims to help inform policymakers on the realities of farm finances.
Paul Wilson, professor of agricultural economics at the University of Nottingham, has been awarded funding by Administrative Data UK (ADR UK) to become one of its research fellows exploring the socioeconomic characteristics and economic resilience of farming households.
“This innovative project will explore how much farm households rely on government subsidies and non-farm business earnings from family members, and also if these non-farm business income streams are supporting losses from farming,” Wilson explained. “The findings will supply policymakers with crucial insights into the realities of farm household incomes.”
Wilson’s project will explore the following research questions:
- How does farm household reliance on non-farm earnings differ across regions, farm type, and farm family household composition and characteristics?
- To what extent are different farm-family households reliant on agricultural and other subsidies for their total farm-family household income?
- Do farm-family household financial hardship levels differ substantially from those of non-farm rural households, accounting for type of employment?
Wilson will gather insights by holding workshops with farmers, farming organisations and policymakers that will help shape the research. He will also use Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data to estimate typical earnings for different occupations.
Using Farm Business Survey data he will estimate business profit as a percentage of turnover for different farm types across regions. Together, these results will allow more data to be added to the newly available Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection (AD|ARC) dataset for England and Wales, creating a new dataset that will be analysed to answer the research aims.
Wilson added: “Farming is an essential part of the UK economy and society and an industry that is currently facing a huge amount of financial pressure. This is why it is vital we gather an accurate picture of farm household finances to help secure the future of farming and help ensure that government support for farming families is delivered in the best possible way.”
