Knowledge hub

Farm Sustainability Data Network

The Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) is an EU survey and data network that collects annual farm-level information to support the analysis of agriculture and agricultural policy. It builds on the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), which has collected farm economic data for more than 60 years. Its methodology aims to produce representative data according to region, economic size and type of farming.

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Author: European Commission

The FSDN initially focused on the economic and structural characteristics of farms, including information such as farm output, input costs, assets, crop areas and livestock numbers. From 2025, its scope began expanding to include information on environmental and social sustainability, alongside economic data. The additional information covers areas such as fertiliser, pesticide, feed and antimicrobial use, environmental farming practices, manure, water, energy and market integration.

The FSDN follows a “collect once, reuse multiple times” approach, making use of information already available in national and EU databases where possible. Individual farm information is not published: results are made available in aggregated form, while researchers may request more detailed data for research purposes.

Why it is useful for rural areas

Agriculture is an important component of many rural economies, and information on the economic, environmental and social characteristics of farms can help provide a more detailed evidence base for understanding agricultural activity in rural areas. The FSDN provides comparable farm-level information across EU Member States and enables analysis according to characteristics such as region, farm size and type of farming.

The inclusion of the environmental and social dimensions alongside economic performance makes the network relevant to stakeholders interested in how different aspects of farm sustainability can be analysed together.

Who is this resource for?

The FSDN is relevant to:

policymakers and public authorities;
agricultural researchers;
CAP managers and evaluators;
farmers and farm advisers;
data-collection bodies and other stakeholders working with agricultural and sustainability data.

About the organisation

The European Commission is the EU institution responsible, among other functions, for proposing EU policies and legislation, monitoring their implementation and managing the EU budget. The Farm Sustainability Data Network is an EU data collection system operated through national administrations and the European Commission. The European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development manages the FSDN at EU level, while national administrations are responsible for data collection.

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