2021 a ‘mixed year’ for farmers and their profits

Vegetable and fruit harvests were badly affected by the “extreme” weather in 2021. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Agricultural income in Switzerland grew slightly in 2021 to reach an average of CHF80,700 ($81,765) per farm, according to latest statistics.

The 1.9% average rise in 2021 came despite a “mixed year” for farmers and farming in Switzerland, said the federal centre of agricultural research AgroscopeExternal link on Tuesday.

While the price of beef and milk rose that year, the situation for pork was more complicated due to oversupply, the research centre said. The weather was also unstable: late-year frost, heavy rain and hail contributed to an “extreme” year which meant smaller and poorer harvests of vegetables, fruits, and wine.

On average, the average salary for an individual member of a farming family, working 100%, was CHF59,800 – a rise of 2% on the previous year. The salary includes income from all farming-related activities, including profits from selling products directly on site, or from the production of biogas. There is an average of 1.35 family workers per farm.

It doesn’t include money earned from non-farming activities, by those who have other jobs on the side: the average income from these non-farming jobs was CHF34,500 per household, Agroscope said.

On Tuesday, the Swiss Farmers’ Federation said it estimated however that incomes would fall in 2022; higher retail prices are not enough to offset the rising cost of other production materials like farm equipment, it wroteExternal link.