Trials | Global Farm Metric

What’s a trial?

Trials test the GFM on real farms, in real conditions.

Between 2023 and 2025, the GFM has been trialled on over 240 farms across 23 countries and six continents.

These involve a wide range of stakeholders: farmers, land managers, advisors, retailers, government bodies, NGOs, and researchers.

Each trial had unique goals and data-collection tools, exploring a range of different use cases—from education and system mapping to practical on-farm sustainability assessments.

All were united by a common framework – demonstrating the GFM’s potential to adapt and harmonise across diverse settings.

While each trial is unique, for those focused on assessment, a common process was followed: co-developing aims with farmers and partners, selecting relevant indicators, adapting tools to the local context, and supporting data collection on the ground. Insights were then reviewed and enriched through farmer feedback, leading to practical recommendations and continuous improvement of the framework.

Farmers

Farmers across multiple trials used the GFM to turn data into action—identifying opportunities to improve practices, boost resilience, and unlock funding.

From enhancing grazing infrastructure to reducing input waste, the structured framework helped them link everyday decisions to long-term sustainability and financial outcomes.

Across multiple trials, farmers used the GFM to assess their sustainability performance—turning data into meaningful action. By selecting indicators relevant to their context and collecting data across environmental, social and economic areas, farms gained a clearer picture of where they stood and what could improve.

In one case, monitoring inputs and outputs highlighted inefficiencies in manure management, giving the confidence and momentum to improve practices that will lead to cost savings and better soil health. Another farmer used data collected by through the trial to access financial assistance which he used to improve grazing infrastructure.

The GFM helped farmers move from reactive to proactive management—linking practical data to long-term goals. Feedback from farmers showed that the structured framework made sustainability feel more achievable, supporting better decisions and more resilient systems on the ground.

Data gathered through trials also showed potential to help build a business case for funding and demonstrate how environmental and financial outcomes could go hand-in-hand – for example, through blended finance or environmental schemes.

“By evaluating these areas comprehensively, I gained valuable insights into their interconnectedness and how decisions in one area can impact others” – Livestock farmer, South Africa

Supply chain

The framework provides a shared way to assess sustainability, unlocking insights across the supply chain.

By sharing holistic data, the GFM helped spark conversation, foster trust, align decision-making and open up pathways to scale progress across the wider food system.

The Global Farm Metric provided a shared framework for Natoora and their partner farms to explore both sustainability challenges and opportunities. A holistic assessment was used to gather farm-level data and reflect on the overall sustainability of the supply chain.

By sharing outcome-based data, farmers were better able to demonstrate their sustainability efforts, while Natoora gained valuable insights into how to support progress on the ground. This exchange of information opened up constructive conversations around long-term goals, fostering mutual understanding and laying the groundwork for more aligned decision-making across the supply chain.

Looking ahead, this approach shows strong potential for scaling—using transparent, farm-level data to deepen trust and drive meaningful change across the wider food system.

“Chatting with growers, helping them to plan, have realistic goals of what they can grow, what that’s going to sell for… finding a crop and maybe saying ‘this is really popular on the market’” – Natoora trial partner

Policy and finance

Outcome-based, farm-level data can underpin government policies and evaluate whether public funds are truly delivering environmental outcomes.

For finance, the GFM supports both True Cost Accounting and investment decisions by making sustainability risks and opportunities visible—helping to unlock transition finance for more resilient farm systems.

The GFM was trialled with DEFRA to support the development of the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS). The goal: to provide a clear, farm-level picture of sustainability performance that could inform national policy.

Working with farmers in Gloucestershire, the trial demonstrated how the GFM can be scaled to capture insights not only at the farm level but also across the catchment—laying the groundwork for landscape-scale decision-making.

By integrating diverse data types, including field-level mapping and qualitative feedback, the trial showed how a harmonised approach can underpin future agri-environment schemes, guide public funding, and unlock new private finance opportunities tied to sustainability outcomes.

The results offered robust evidence for policymakers while showing farmers a clear route to measurable, rewarded environmental action.

Alignment

The GFM is helping to align sustainability efforts across the food and farming sector by providing a shared framework for understanding and measuring farm and landscape-level outcomes.

Recent trials showed that, despite differing goals, organisations could use the GFM as a common reference point—laying the groundwork for greater transparency, cooperation and alignment across the industry.

The GFM is playing a key role in fostering greater alignment across the food and farming sector. In our recent Defra ELMS Test and Trial, run with LEAF, the Soil Association Exchange (Exchange), the Andersons Centre and BASIS, the framework enabled cross-sector understanding and cooperation.

The trial explored the value of a shared approach to understanding, measuring, monitoring and communicating sustainability at farm and landscape levels. While differing organisational aims and the cost of transition can slow alignment at the data-point level, the GFM provided a common reference point that allowed actors to align approaches, assessments and certification schemes in principle, without undermining existing structures.

Project partners agreed on the need for a holistic framework to better align existing metrics across the sector. Exchange is continuing to work with the GFM team to increase alignment across its approach and platform. LEAF also recognised the long-term value of a holistic approach and is exploring ways to incorporate outcomes-based metrics in the LEAF Marque Standard.

As demand for high-integrity, standardised data continues to grow, the GFM is laying the foundation for a more joined-up, transparent and collaborative approach for measuring sustainability across the food and farming sector.

Education

The GFM is being used as an educational tool to build sustainability understanding across audiences—from farm advisors to school children—by making complex systems more tangible.

Its structured approach supports systems thinking, and new resources are now being developed to make the framework more accessible and engaging for diverse learners.

The GFM has proven valuable not only for farm assessments but also as an educational tool to build understanding of sustainability across a range of audiences. From farm advisors to school children, projects have explored how the framework can support learning at multiple levels.

Initiatives include the development of an online BASIS-accredited course for farm advisors and the creation of farm-focused educational resources for primary schools. The GFM’s structured, whole-farm approach helps learners grasp complex interconnections and encourages systems thinking—making sustainability clearer and more tangible.

Applying the framework in education also revealed key challenges. Translating it into accessible, engaging content required dedicated expertise in communication and curriculum design. In response, we are now developing tailored guidance and resources to strengthen the GFM’s role in education, including future trials with post-graduate modules.

Evaluation

The GFM has been used to map and analyse sustainability frameworks across food and drink sectors, highlighting both overlaps and gaps in current assurance schemes.

Its broad relevance—from farms to wider supply chains—supports alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and fosters greater collaboration for systemic change.

The Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS), with support from the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership, used the GFM framework to map and analyse quality assurance schemes across Scotland’s food and drink sectors.

One of the key reasons for using the GFM was its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), being relevant to and supportive of 16 of the 17 SDGs. While the GFM has been designed for on-farm application, the framework was also relevant to non-land-based industries, including seafood and aquaculture, and to downstream supply chain activities, such as haulage, markets and processing.

The findings uncovered a complex web of frameworks, highlighting the array of sustainability factors considered across these schemes. Gap analysis revealed areas of alignment in commonly monitored aspects such as soil biota, structure and organic matter, as well as animal health and welfare. It also highlighted gaps less frequently assessed within certification schemes, such as emissions.

The results of this analysis will be used to foster collaboration within Scotland and drive positive change for sustainability.