25 per cent of farm households in England were in poverty at the last count, according to official figures obtained by the Conservatives.
Jim Paice MP, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, said that "there is no more important industry than the production of food but these figures show how tough life is for many farmers".
Despite welcome increases in incomes, large numbers of farm businesses are barely breaking even as the costs and regulatory burdens imposed by Government increase.
Paice said that in recent years "thousands of farmers have quit the industry, weakening our supply base and leaving us more reliant on imports of food we could produce ourselves".
“Our agricultural industry is a national asset but too often under the current Government farmers have been undervalued and undermined", he added.