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How FBS Works

Taking part in the Farm Business Survey is easy, completely free, and fully confidential.

5 Simple Steps

You’ll spend just a couple of hours each year with a local Research Officer — and in return, you’ll get a year’s worth of benchmarking and business insight.

Step 1:
Register Online

Provide a few basic details and we’ll match you with your local Research Officer.

Step 2:
Share Your Accounts

Once a year, you’ll meet with your Research Officer (online or in person) to share financial records securely.

Step 3:
Data Is Analysed

We anonymise and process your data alongside over 1,500 other farm businesses across England.

Step 4:
Receive Your Reports

You’ll get an individual farm financial report and a comprehensive, easy-to-understand financial report benchmarking your farm against others in your sector.

Step 5:
Shape the Future

Your anonymised data helps inform government policy and industry support – benefitting the wider farming community.

“It’s impossible to overstate the importance of FBS data in policy-making.
The level of detail the survey offers on farm accounts and balance sheets is invaluable for analysing the possible impacts of any domestic policy reforms, changes to trade arrangements, or even market volatility.
Having worked in other policy areas across Whitehall, I can say with some confidence that other industries and departments would be extremely envious of such a data source.”
— Defra Analyst

How FBS data is used

Real impact: How your data shapes farming policy in England

Every farm that takes part in the Farm Business Survey contributes to decisions that shape the future of agriculture. The anonymised data collected each year is used by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in England to design support schemes, measure farm resilience, and assess sector performance.

This trusted evidence base ensures that farmers’ voices are reflected in national policy.

Examples of impact in England

Farming Schemes
Evidence from the FBS helps government design schemes that reflect the realities of different farm types across all parts of England. FBS data has been heavily used by Defra to understand how changes to the Direct Payments and the rollout of Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes affect farm incomes.

Farm Resilience & Profitability
The FBS produces many economic measures including Farm Business Income (FBI) and performance ratios; these provide insight into how farms respond to challenges such as rising input costs, trade changes, or extreme weather. This data supports policies that strengthen farm resilience and ensure resources are directed where they are most needed.

Diversification & Rural Development
From farm shops to renewable energy, the FBS collects a wealth of information on diversification income which has helped inform rural development programmes and grant schemes, ensuring policy supports farms creating additional income streams.

Productivity & Innovation
FBS produces Total Factor Productivity (TFP) by farm type statistics, which measure how efficiently different types of farms in England turn inputs into outputs. These insights guide policies on technology, training, and innovation to help farms become more productive and competitive.

Ready to take part?

Joining the Farm Business Survey is quick, free, and fully confidential — and your participation makes a real difference.

By contributing just a few hours of your time, you’ll receive valuable insight into your farm’s performance and help build a stronger, more informed future for agriculture.

If that sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

Register now

Want to explore the data behind the reports?

You can explore this data yourself using the Farm Business Data Dashboard.

Visit the data dashboard