ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the empirical evidence on the wealth of farmers and their households and assesses the significance that a greater attention to this wealth could have on the shape of European Union policy. The valuation of wealth in money terms can take one of two broad approaches. The first values assets according to the price they would fetch if sold on the open market and this can be labelled "realisation value". The second is to value the assets as they appear to the person who currently possesses and uses them if they remain in his control, termed "going concern" or "use" value. Balance sheets set out the values of assets and liabilities belonging to institutional units at particular times. Estimating the net worth of the UK agricultural industry depends on satisfactory specifications and measurement of both the assets and liabilities used in farming which is far from simple.
