Agricultural Household Survey 2025 Report

Executive Summary

The Agricultural Household Survey

Research Resource Scotland were commissioned to undertake a survey of agricultural households. The survey collates data on agricultural households in Scotland on demographics, household composition, economic activity, wellbeing and skills.

The aim of the survey was to provide a more comprehensive picture of farming and crofting communities and help inform the development of the Agricultural Reform Programme (ARP) moving forward. It provides insights to inform our understanding of how the ARP can support diversity, wellbeing and a just transition for Scottish agriculture. A total of 4,284 responses were received to the survey. This executive summary provides an overview of the key findings.

Profile of agricultural households

The survey asked respondents about who was living in the household and their role(s) across the farm and household in order to understand who lives in agricultural communities:

• Just under half of agricultural households comprised 2 adults (46%) which is higher than for the Scottish population overall (32%). Agricultural households were also more likely to have 3 or more adults (15%, compared to 10% of the Scottish population) and were less likely to be single adult households (21% compared to 37% of the Scottish population). Just 18% of agricultural households contained children which is slightly lower than the Scottish population (21%).
• Nine in ten agricultural households (90%) included an active farmer and 87% of survey respondents were identified as an active farmer. Survey respondents were most likely to describe their role as a farmer or crofter (64%), followed by a farm or croft business owner (36%), and a farm or croft business partner (20%).
• Six in ten active farmers (59%) were aged 60 or over which is a larger proportion than the Scottish adult population overall (33%). Just 6% were aged 18-39 compared to 34% for the Scottish adult population.

Equalities profile

The Scottish Government is required to collect relevant equality evidence to meet requirements of The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. To monitor and understand the profile of those living in Scottish farms and crofts, respondents were asked voluntary equalities profiling questions:

• Around one in five respondents had a health condition or disability that limits their day-to-day life (19%). This is lower than for the Scottish adult population overall (28%).
• Just under one in ten active farmers (9%) had sought help for a stress, emotional or mental health problem in the last 12 months. Those who had sought help were most likely to have done so from a GP (62%) or friends and family (42%). All respondents were then asked about the sources they would suggest to others if they were in need of support. Seven in ten (69%) said they would suggest contacting their GP, 54% would recommend reaching out to friends and family and 31% would suggest contacting RSABI.
• A majority of active farmers (70%) were married or in a registered civil partnership, which is higher than the Scottish average (44%), and 15% of survey respondents were never married and never registered in a civil partnership compared to 37% of the Scottish population.
• Almost all active farmers (99%) identified as heterosexual or straight (96% for the Scottish population overall) and 0.4% of respondents said they were trans which is in line with the Scottish Census (0.4%).

Skills

Within the survey it was important to understand the current skills, qualifications, training needs and digital capabilities of adults working on farms and crofts in Scotland. The information helps identify strengths, gaps and areas where further support or development may be useful:

• Over half of respondents believed there were adults working on the farm who had skills that required improvement. The highest number pointed to computer literacy and basic IT skills (26%), followed by adapting to new equipment or materials (22%).
• Respondents were asked about digital confidence and their ability to do tasks online. 87% said they were able to make a payment or purchase online without support and 86% said they were able to provide basic information to a government department online. Fewer respondents said they could provide detailed information to a government department online, such as completing a tax return or benefit application by themselves (52%).
• 27% said their internet connection was very reliable, a further 51% said it was fairly reliable, 12% considered it to be not very reliable and 6% felt it was unreliable.

Household finances

One of the Scottish Government’s priorities is to eradicate child poverty. However, the lack of data available is a barrier to understanding the impact agricultural schemes have on agricultural households. This section focused on household finances overall and standard of living for households with children:

• Respondents were asked to provide information on their household income. Just under one in four respondents (23%) selected the “prefer not to say” option on the questionnaire, 15% noted their income level was under £20,000, 8% said their household income was between £20,000 and £29,999, 20% had an income of between £30,000 and £49,000, and 24% had an income of between £50,000 and £99,999. Those with income levels above £100,000 made up 11% of households. The median income was between £40,000 and £49,999.
• Respondents were asked to think about their standard of living and to answer from a list of items which they have but don’t want and which they don’t have and can’t afford. Households with children were most likely to say they can afford home contents insurance (86%) and that they have enough money to repair or replace broken electrical goods (85%). Where households with children did not have things due to affordability reasons, this was most likely due to having enough money to make regular payments into a pension (23%), followed by having enough money to take part in a hobby or leisure activity (19%).

Distribution of household responsibilities

This section of the report was analysed for households with opposite sex marriages to understand how gender influences household decisions and decisions on personal finances within agricultural households:

• Respondents were asked about household task responsibilities. Females were more likely to be responsible for tasks such as childcare (67%), household chores (66%) and caring for adults in need of care (56%) than males. Males were more likely to be responsible for caring for livestock (54%), and other farm related tasks (52%) than females. Please note that the remaining proportion of responsibility may be a mix of the opposite gender, joint responsibility with a partner or responsibility of other adults in the household.
• Within the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2019 and in Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023 a similar trend exists with women being more likely to be responsible for taking care of children and household chores.
• In relation to household decisions, females generally were more likely to have responsibility for decisions on children’s education (45%), household finances (41%) and healthcare (37%) than males. Males were slightly more likely to be responsible for decisions in farm finances (51%), retirement (37%) and succession plans (39%) than females. Again the remaining proportion of responsibility may be a mix of the opposite gender, joint responsibility or the responsibility of other adults in the household.
• Almost all respondents (94%) agreed that men and women should have equal rights in terms of making decisions. Female respondents were more likely to strongly agree with this statement (73%) than male respondents (57%).