For more than 15 years, Defra has funded the collection of data on organic farm incomes, published annually as a report by Aberystwyth University, and used to support the costings data published in the Organic Farm Management Handbook. We have analysed the trends for the last five years as part of a report to be published by the Soil Association and ORC in Spring 2013. These results show that in general, organic farms remain competitive with similar conventional farms, and that incomes have held up better than might have been expected given the tough market conditions following the recession. However, some particular sectors are facing real difficulties. Price premiums alone do not tell the full story and should not form the basis of a decision to stay organic or revert back to conventional.
