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Rural facts

Woodland findings:

The area of woodland in the UK at 31 March 2019 is estimated to be 3.19 million hectares. This represents 13% of the total land area in the UK, 10% in England, 15% in Wales, 19% in Scotland and 8% in Northern Ireland.
Of the total UK woodland area, 0.86 million hectares (27%) is owned or managed by Forestry England, Forestry and Land Scotland, Natural Resources Wales or the Forest Service (in Northern Ireland).
The total certified woodland area in the UK at 31 March 2019 is 1.40 million hectares, including all Forestry England/Forestry and Land Scotland1/Natural Resources Wales/Forest Service woodland. Overall, 44% of the UK woodland area is certified.
Thirteen thousand hectares of new woodland were created in the UK in 2018-19, with conifers accounting for 60% of this area.
A total of 842 sites were served with a Statutory Plant Health Notice in 2018-19, requiring a total of 3.8 thousand hectares of woodland to be felled. (This excludes areas felled within the Phytophthora ramorum management zone in south west Scotland, where a Statutory Plant Health Notice is not required).
(Forestry Commission, 2019)

Rural affairs:

In 2017/18 there were 545,000 businesses registered in rural areas, accounting for 24 per cent of all registered businesses in England.
Businesses registered in rural areas employed 3.6 million people, accounting for 13 per cent of all those employed by registered businesses in England.
There are more registered businesses per head of population in predominantly rural areas than in predominantly urban areas (excluding London).
There are proportionately more small businesses in rural areas.
In 2017 there were 46 registered business start-ups per 10,000 population in predominantly rural areas compared with 55 per 10,000 population in predominantly urban areas (excluding London).
(Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 2019a)

Further rural affairs:

These figures are current until they are replaced on the 19th of December 2019.

Second estimate figures for 2018 compared to 2017, in current prices, show:

Total Income from Farming fell by £971 million (17%) to £4,644 million
Agriculture contributed £9,548 million or 0.51% to the national economy (Gross Value Added), a decrease of £651 million (6%) on the year.

The main drivers of these changes are:

An increase of £538 million (2%) in gross output to £26,562 million
An increase of £1,189 million (8%) in the value of intermediate consumption to £17,014 million
- Crop output value rose by 0.9% to £9,265 million. The cold, wet spring followed by the dry, hot summer contributed to lower yields of key crops however better prices helped offset production falls.
The value of total livestock output rose by 2% to £14,741 million. Prices were generally higher but the challenging weather conditions affected volumes; the late cold spring disrupted lambing and the hot, dry summer led to poor grass growth and difficulties feeding livestock.
In general all intermediate consumption costs rose, with fuel, feed and fertiliser costs showing the largest increases.
(Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 2019b)

Bibliography

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2019b) ‘Total Income from Farming in the United Kingdom First estimate for 2018’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/815301/agricaccounts-tiffstatsnotice-09jul19.pdf (Accessed: 21 November 2019).

Forestry Commission (2019) ‘Forestry Statistics 2019’. Available at: https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/documents/7435/Complete_FS2019_zIuGIog.pdf (Accessed: 8 December 2019).