A £100,000 gulf in average income between the top arable farms and those at the bottom of the performance table has been revealed in an industry report.

The AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) collaborated with the Andersons Centre to produce the revised analysis of farm performance, reflecting the evolving business landscape of dwindling EU subsidies and new environmental incentives. 

The analysis matched pairs of similar farms from the top 25pc and the bottom 50pc of economic performers in each sector, to compare their revenues and pinpoint some of the measures farm managers could apply to help improve the bottom line of their business.

For cereals, the dominant force in East Anglia's agricultural landscape, it says top-quartile farms make an average of £104,060 more per year than the bottom 50pc of farms.

Meanwhile, the reported difference for beef and sheep farms is £49,200, and for dairy farms it is £126,500.

The report also aims to define the characteristics of top-performing farms, and which factors have the most significant influence on their profitability.

Although they vary by sector, common themes include a focus on managing costs and overheads, attention to detail, setting goals and budgets, and having a positive "attitude to change".

For cereals farms, the best performers also have higher levels of contracting, lower debts and significantly higher wheat yields, prices and agricultural outputs.

Sarah Baker, from AHDB, said: "The report highlights the stark difference in income between the top and bottom performers for each sector covered, after matching for farm size, sector and geographical features.

"While there are nuances for each sector, the key point to note is that the factors identified are within farmers’ control to address and potentially improve their farm business performance."