The number of farms in England have fallen by nearly a quarter in less than two decades, shocking new figures show.
The fall is seen in almost every crop and livestock category, according to House of Commons data commissioned and analysed by the Liberal Democrats.
It reveals that, in the 18 years since 2005, there was a drop of over 30,000 farm holdings - a reduction of 22.7%.
Dairy farms have been particularly badly hit. Since 2005, the total number of dairy farms has more than halved from 18,910 (2005) to 9,083 (2023).
Worryingly, cereal farms have suffered with a drop of over 10,000 cereal farm holdings since 2005.
Potato farms have faced a similar fate, with almost 7,000 farms in 2005 now reduced to 4,834 in 2023.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has warned that “farms are on the brink” as the party urges the government to increase the farming budget by £1bn a year.
He has also frequently called on the Labour government to ditch the proposals to introduce a ‘family farm tax’.
Commenting on the data, Sir Ed said British farmers "are the backbone of the economy," yet successive governments "have done nothing but neglect them".
"Farmers look after our countryside and feed the nation, and without them we would be worse off," the Lib Dem leader said.
“Under the Conservatives’ watch, farmers struggled with botched trade deals and rocketing energy bills.
"Unfortunately, the current government seems content on maintaining the Conservatives’ appalling track record on farming.
"The family farm tax may be the final nail in the coffin for many farmers," he warned.
