Scottish farmers’ borrowing has grown by 5% over the last year, figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal. This brings the total amount of borrowing to £2.32bn. This is the eighth year of growth in borrowing, bringing the total loans to agriculture to the highest level since 1972.

The figures also revealed that hire-purchase, family loans and other sources of loans account for £1.1bn in the Scottish farming sector. About 50% of total liabilities are long-term loans, a percentage that has been slowly increasing over time. In 2003 about 40% of debt was long-term. Liabilities equate to about 8% of assets.

Data for the survey is collected directly from all banks and mortgage companies that are involved with lending to Scottish agriculture. The outstanding debt for each bank is aggregated to provide a total for Scottish agriculture.

NFU Scotland chief executive Scott Walker said: “It is bad news that once again the level of bank borrowings of Scottish farms has risen.”