Farm sustainability data network

The Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) is an EU survey that gathers yearly data about farms. It builds on the long-standing Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), which has collected farm economics data from an annual sample of around 80 000 farms across the EU for more than 60 years. Managed at the national level and compiled at the EU level, this network provides valuable insights on the economic aspects of EU farms.

From 2025, the FSDN collects additional data to give a clearer view of the broader sustainability in agriculture, covering economic, environmental, and social factors.

Getting involved is simple: just contact the FADN/FSDN liaison agency that organises data collection in your country. Considering that FSDN is a voluntary survey designed for “market-oriented farms”, the national liaison agency can check if your farm fulfills the criteria to take part.

The data collected supports sustainability analysis at both national and EU levels, helping policymakers take informed decisions for the common agricultural policy (CAP) and more broadly the policies affecting the agricultural sector. Agricultural research in the field of economics and sustainability use the information gathered as a key data source.

National authorities provide advice and feedback to farmers based on FADN/FSDN data, mostly applying comparison on sustainability indicators between a holding and groups of similar farms, in particular the best performers (benchmarking). For the FSDN to produce meaningful results, EU countries must select a representative sample of farms where enough farms belonging to the different selection criteria should volunteer. Collecting data at the farm level allows linking different aspects of sustainability within each farm and analysing groups of farms based on similar characteristics.

One key analysis compares farms applying for certain CAP interventions with comparable farms that do not, guiding improvements to agricultural policies.

Farmers who participate gain access to reports that compare their results with similar farms (for example, in the same sector and economic size), helping them improve performance and management. Some countries also offer financial incentives for farmers who join.

Non-participating farmers can still benefit from the results, though these are usually less detailed and tailored.

Providing data is also a way to contribute to a more efficient policy: in this way participating farmers can shape the CAP of the future.

The time required depends on how data is collected in each country. In some countries, data is gathered from registries and administrations, while in others, data collectors visit farms directly, or farmers may compile the data themselves. For specific details, please get in touch with your FADN/FSDN liaison agency.

Currently FADN information is related to structural (areas of crops, head of animals, assets) and accountancy information (value of farm output, costs of farm inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides). When the transition to FSDN is completed, other information will be added, such as quantities for fertilisers, pesticides, feed, and antimicrobials. Data on farm management in terms of environmental farming practices, manure, water, energy, market integration and other factors will also be collected.

The FSDN only requires data at farm level that is not available elsewhere, as it follows a “collect once, reuse multiple times” approach, using as much data as possible from existing national and EU databases, including the Integrated Administrative Control System (IACS) that manages CAP aid applications in EU countries.

This approach helps reduce the amount of information requested directly from participating farmers and makes better use of available data for policy analysis. However, some specific information may still need to be collected directly from farmers if it is not available from other sources.

Data is collected by national administrations and then sent to the European Commission to allow for farm-level sustainability analysis in support of assessing and improving agricultural policy.

The data is published only in aggregated form by national administrations and the European Commission, ensuring individual farm details are not disclosed. Researchers may request more detailed data, but only for research purposes.

Depending on the national data collection system, data might be gathered by surveyors, or sourced from farm accountancy systems, management software, or documents like invoices. In all cases, strict data protection rules are applied to prevent the misuse or disclosure of personal information.

The data collection is voluntary, therefore farmers can opt-out at any moment.

However, it should be considered that participating across different years can enable to build time series, providing very valuable information to improve the policy and benefit from specific advice in case EU countries provide feedback to farmers based on FADN/FSDN data.