UK Precision Farming Statistics
Every reliable public number we know of on precision farming in the UK, in one place — adoption by technique, why farms adopt, current soil and nutrient practice, and the economic evidence. Each figure carries its source and its date, because a statistic without a date is a rumour. Last updated 21 July 2026.
Which Techniques UK Farms Actually Use
The most recent official technique-by-technique measurement is DEFRA's Farm Practices Survey run in October 2019 (published March 2020) — England, ~7,900 holdings sampled, 34.5% response rate. Percentages are of farms where the technique was applicable. No newer official survey has measured adoption at this level of detail, which is worth knowing in itself.
| Technique | Using it | Not using | Don't know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular weighing to measure livestock growth rates | 42% | 58% | 1% |
| Breeding indices or estimated breeding values (EBVs) | 30% | 67% | 3% |
| Soil mapping | 29% | 69% | 2% |
| Variable-rate application | 25% | 72% | 3% |
| Yield mapping | 17% | 82% | 1% |
| Telemetry (remote measuring) | 10% | 87% | 3% |
| Pasture measurement (plate meters, probes) | 9% | 89% | 1% |
| Controlled traffic farming | 8% | 87% | 5% |
| Automated heat detection systems | 8% | 91% | 1% |
Source: DEFRA Farm Practices Survey, October 2019 — general (PDF, published 5 March 2020). Rows may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Why Farms Adopt — In Their Own Words
From the same DEFRA survey, farms using at least one precision technique gave these reasons (multiple answers allowed):
Productivity
To increase the productivity or performance of the farm — by far the most common reason given.
Accuracy
To improve accuracy. Among cereal farms this reason was chosen by 81% — against 41% on lowland grazing farms.
Input Costs
To reduce input costs — fertiliser, spray, seed and fuel savings from putting inputs only where they are needed.
Soil Condition
To improve soil conditions; 38% also named lessening environmental impact — 60% among cereal farms.
Among farms not using the techniques: 63% said they were not relevant to their farm and 48% thought them too expensive.
Soil & Nutrient Practice in 2025
DEFRA's Farm Practices Survey of February 2025 (England) measured the data-driven habits that underpin precision nutrient management:
- 80% of farmers regularly test soil pH; 78% regularly test soil nutrient indices.
- 68% have calculated a whole-farm nutrient balance for N, P or K.
- 64% have a nutrient management plan — and 59% of those use the industry Nutrient Management Guide (RB209).
- 59% keep track of soil organic matter.
- 37% of farmers reported doing no testing of manure nutrient content — a visible gap between soil testing and manure testing habits.
- Source: DEFRA Farm Practices Survey, February 2025 — nutrient management.
The Payback Evidence
From AHDB's five-year precision farming experiment on cereal crops — still the most rigorous public UK dataset on whether the technology pays:
Per Hectare
Average benefit of spatially variable nitrogen in the project's trial year 2000 — 7 of 8 treatment zones gave a positive return.
Of Field Area
Responded positively to variable-rate nitrogen, depending on field and year. Uniform treatment always mis-dosed part of the field.
Break-Even
Farm size above which basic (~£4,500) variable-rate systems outweighed their costs on cereal farms; 200–300ha for £11,500–£16,000 systems.
Nitrogen Surplus
Variable-rate nitrogen cut the nitrogen surplus — applied but unused fertiliser — by roughly one third.
For the full cost picture — the free tier, the contractor route, and current grants — see How much does precision farming cost in the UK?
Public Money Behind the Technology (2026)
- £50 million — FETF 2026 budget (£20M productivity, £20M animal health & welfare, £10M slurry), 290 eligible items, closed 12 May 2026; a consolidated grant offer is planned from 2027.
- £240 million — total SFI26 budget; the first £60M window opened 30 June 2026, and around 25% of it was allocated within a day.
- Free — Sentinel-2 satellite imagery for any UK field, published openly under the EU's Copernicus programme: the zero-cost entry point to seeing in-field variation. See yours in our free Field NDVI Viewer.
- New to the subject? Start with the complete UK guide or our free interactive introduction course.
Sources & Dating
- DEFRA Farm Practices Survey October 2019 — general statistics notice (published 5 March 2020) — adoption by technique, reasons for and against. England only. The most recent official survey to measure precision techniques individually.
- DEFRA Farm Practices Survey February 2025 — nutrient management — soil testing, nutrient plans, manure testing. England only.
- AHDB — Precision farming of cereal crops: a five-year experiment — economic returns, field response, system costs and break-even sizes.
- GOV.UK — FETF 2026 and DEFRA Farming Blog — SFI26 updates — funding figures and dates.
- Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem — free Sentinel-2 data access.
Citing this page? Please link to it and to the primary source of the specific figure. If you spot a newer official figure we have missed, tell us — we update this page as new data is published.