UK farm fixed capital consumption: poultry
UK farm fixed capital consumption: poultry stood at £223.19m in 2025, according to GOV.UK official statistics. It is one of the indicators in the Farm income and yields table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 1973 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Farm income and yields table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total consumption of fixed capital | 5,678.98 | 5,369.67 | 5,181.12 | 5,148.04 | 4,707.97 | 4,610.66 | 4,543.36 | 4,339.53 | 4,144.08 | 4,073.91 | |
| Consumption of fixed capital: livestock | 1,638.05 | 1,436.25 | 1,347.66 | 1,483.03 | 1,417.85 | 1,466.12 | 1,398.04 | 1,286.7 | 1,217.16 | 1,254.33 | |
| Consumption of fixed capital: poultry | 223.19 | 220.25 | 217.74 | 237.27 | 251.07 | 279.49 | 291.32 | 266.25 | 261.41 | 278.54 |
Understanding UK farm fixed capital consumption: poultry
Estimated annual capital consumption for breeding poultry flocks across the United Kingdom, quantified in £m as part of the detailed livestock depreciation schedule. This category measures the economic exhaustion of laying flocks and parent breeding stock utilised in egg and broiler chick production. Commercial broilers grown exclusively for meat processing are excluded from this fixed capital measure due to their rapid turnover within single-year production cycles. Laying hens and breeding birds retained across multiple periods represent the underlying capital base captured here.
Interpreting this metric requires recognising the highly industrialized nature of modern poultry production, where capital cycles are short and responsive to feed costs and consumer demand. Revisions to early figures typically incorporate hatchery surveys and commercial egg production returns. Researchers should take care not to confuse this capital depreciation with daily feed purchases or biosecurity expenditures. A frequent analytical mistake is treating poultry capital consumption as a significant share of total agricultural depreciation, given that poultry assets possess much shorter working lives than cattle or permanent structures.
Frequently asked questions
- Are broiler chickens raised for meat included in this breeding capital series?
- No, broilers have very short production cycles and are treated as inventory rather than fixed capital.
- Which types of birds form the basis of this poultry depreciation measure?
- Laying hens and parent breeding stock retained across multiple periods constitute the fixed capital base.
- Why does poultry capital consumption represent a small fraction of total farm depreciation?
- The short economic lifespan of poultry means asset values are exhausted rapidly compared with cattle or buildings.