Scotland’s farmers are being urged to take part in this year’s Scottish Farm Business Survey, with officials warning that the data provided will directly influence future support schemes and farm policy decisions.
The call comes as Scotland prepares to transition to a new agricultural support framework, with the Scottish government relying increasingly on real-world business data to guide policy on food security, climate delivery and rural funding.
The survey is the government’s most authoritative source of farm financial information and helps assess the pressures and profitability of farms across all major sectors.
Delivered by SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), the survey gathers detailed financial and environmental data from around 400 volunteer commercial farms. Participation is open to dairy, arable and livestock businesses across Scotland’s traditionally supported sectors.
Sascha Grierson, Principal Consultant at SAC Consulting, said the information gathered was “hugely important to everyone operating in the sector”, providing a clear picture of “trends, pressures and opportunities” across Scottish agriculture.
She said participating farmers receive tailored benchmarking and business reports, including cost breakdowns and net-worth analysis, which can help identify underperforming areas and improve profitability.
The survey’s national significance was underlined this year when SRUC received the Queen Elizabeth Prize in recognition of the nearly century-long impact the SFBS has had on agricultural policy and farm management practice. The award reinforces its reputation as the UK’s most robust long-term dataset on farm performance.
Key results from the 2023–24 survey showed the average net worth of Scottish farms at £1.88 million. Dairy, arable and mixed units recorded the highest farm business incomes, although overall income levels fell from the previous year’s record highs. Regular labour costs dropped for most farm types, but in several cases this was offset by rising casual labour costs.
Created in 1936 in response to the Great Slump and early concerns about food security, the survey has evolved into a central tool for evidence-based policymaking. Today it provides both short-term insight — allowing government to understand the impact of policy changes on real farms — and long-term analysis of profitability trends across more than ten years of data.
Farmers who participate receive two key tools: a detailed Farm Business Report covering up to three years of management accounts, and Whole Farm Benchmarks enabling them to compare performance with similar enterprises and identify areas for improvement.
Grierson said participation helps farmers “better understand performance and plan for the future”, while also supporting “vital data collection that shapes agricultural policy and strengthens the future of Scotland’s farming sector”.
Farmers who wish to participate in this year’s survey can email ScottishFarmBusinessSurvey@sac.co.uk for more information. All data is handled anonymously.
