It is going to be a very tough winter for many farming families

Deloitte and Touche's Richard Crane

Junior Agriculture Minister Joyce Quin admitted that the figure was "worrying", but said that the government was not only "listening but doing".

But Conservative Agriculture Minister Tim Yeo said:

"This report highlights what farmers have known for too long - that this Government's failure to act is putting them out of business."

Agriculture in crisis

"Whereas farming income has doubled between 1990 and 1995, since 1995 it has fallen back very sharply and I accept those figures," she added.

The National Farmers' Union said the latest figures illustrated the severity of the crisis affecting British agriculture.

It added that total farm incomes in real terms are at their lowest since the 1930s.

NFU President Ben Gill called for the government to work with farmers to "reduce red-tape and over-zealous regulation."

"The report again illustrates the severity of the crisis affecting British agriculture and its impact on every farm in the country be it large or small," he added.

The latest figures have been collated from farmers covering a total of 250,000 acres, mainly in England.

Tough winter

Deloitte and Touche accountant and farmer Richard Crane told BBC Radio 5 Live the figures were a genuine reflection of what is going on in family families across the country.

"A lot of them aren't surviving," he said.

"It is going to be a very tough winter for many farming families."

The average figures mask regional variations and some sectors have fared better than others.

Mr Crane said the dairy sector has had the toughest year, but said all sectors could be hit next year.

Joyce Quin said that more government help had been directed at the dairy sector in particular.

"I believe very strongly, particularly as a result of measures over the last year, the Action Plan for Farming announced at the Downing Street summit, and so forth, that we have shown that we are not only listening but we are doing," she said.

But the Conservatives accused the government of caving into pressure from the EU.

"This is a Government that would rather protect French farmers who flagrantly flout the law, than stand up for hard-working British farmers who produce quality goods," Mr Yeo said.

Pressures on the food chain

Some farmers argue that too much of their income is being taken by the huge supermarket chains, who have the power to keep the prices of farm products low.

Farming accountant Mark Hill told BBC News 24 that farmers need to deal directly with consumers to survive.

"The same amount of money is in circulation in the food industry," he said.

"The farmer needs to get a better share of that.

"The way he does that is by selling direct to the consumer rather than being the last person in the chain and taking what is left."