Coherence and comparability

This section covers how consistent these statistics are over time and how comparable they are with those of other regions and countries.

Agriculture subsector estimates

Detail about revisions to the GHG Inventory and methodology are available at Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2024.

Farm level GHG emissions and nitrogen use estimates

Methodology improvements have been made for absolute farm-level GHG emission estimates from 2021-22 onwards. This means that results from 2019-20 and 2020-21 are not directly comparable with results from 2021-22 onwards. More information is included under Changes to methodology.

Nitrogen use results are considered to be consistent and comparable over time. Results are available from 2019-20 to 2024-25. The methodology has been consistent over this time period.

Trends for most farm types in the Farm Business survey are subject to annual sample variations, as a small number of farms join and leave the survey each year. Farms in the sample may also change their characteristics, and might move from being classified as one main farm type to another. More commentary is available in Scottish farm business income: annual estimates.

Comparability between agriculture sector, subsector and farm-level estimates

Emissions for the agriculture sector and subsectors are for the calendar year and are based on estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for Scottish agriculture as reported in the Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2024. Agricultural subsectors align more closely with agricultural enterprises and provide a different breakdown to the categories used in the Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics.

Nitrogen use estimates for the agriculture sector in 2023 are available in the Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet.

National Scottish estimates use different methodologies that are not directly comparable to the methodology used to estimate farm-level results. Average farm-level estimates also do not cover the full agricultural industry.

Emission and nitrogen use estimates for the average farm are based on commercial sized farms in the Farm Business Survey. Average farm estimates are for the accounting year 2024-25 rather than the 2024 calendar year. Absolute emission and nitrogen use estimates include all enterprises on farm. Farms are complex businesses with multiple activities that contribute to GHG emissions. For example, cereal farms may have livestock and the scale of this secondary enterprise can vary.

Emission intensity estimates report emissions for the primary product of beef, sheep, milk and cereals enterprises. Estimates are not weighted to the June Agricultural Census population, representing the average carbon footprint of products from the Farm Business Survey sample.

Comparability with other statistics

Other sources of emissions and nitrogen use data may also use different methodologies. Methodological differences may include:

• different coefficients to estimate emissions and nitrogen content
• including or excluding different contributors and use, for example transport of livestock off farm,
• different methods of accounting for the transfer or life cycle of contributors in the system
• different industry coverage, for example whether all of meat production is included or results are based on a sub-sample
•  different reporting periods

Users interested in comparing results between different statistics and between different countries should evaluate the relevant methodologies of sources used. Different results may be obtained using different methods.