This report summarises a 2022 project with partners in Monmouthshire, Wales, exploring how to better engage farmers in sustainability and the role of on-farm assessments in this process.
Based on surveys with farm advisors, workshops, and farm trials using the Global Farm Metric (GFM) tool, it finds that engagement around sustainability was affected by factors including time, cost, infrastructure, knowledge gaps, cognitive overload, mindset concerns, and communication issues. These barriers are similar to those affecting the actual implementation of change, showing that engagement itself carries costs and complexities that need to be tackled.
The research highlights that assessments are no silver bullet; poorly timed or unsupported, they can discourage engagement. When well-designed, relevant, legitimate, and introduced at the right stage, they can spark insight and drive action, especially when spaced over time, aligned with other data systems, and supported by advisors..
A key recommendation is to introduce a clear sustainability framework before formal assessments to build trust, clarify what sustainability means in context, and underpin consistent, holistic measurement. Peer learning and advisor follow-up are vital to turn findings into change. Lasting improvements require tackling systemic pressures – from market forces to policy – through collaboration between farmers, advisors, communities, supply chains and government.
As UK agricultural policy moves towards using assessments to evidence sustainability (including the forthcoming Welsh SFS), this report provides timely insights and cautions against treating them as a one-size-fits-all solution.
Citation: Wheeler, M., & Kipling, R. P. (2025). Engaging farmers in sustainability: Barriers and assessments. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16838682