Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection 2021: – England and Wales
The AD|ARC (Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection) datasets link information on farm business activities with data about the people in households who operate and generally live on farms. All records are de-identified. The datasets also include three control groups of non-farming individuals, and a control group of households, living in similar rural areas. Research using the data will enable better understanding of the demographic, health, education and economic characteristics of households associated with different types and sizes of farm business. This will provide new insights for decision makers to improve agricultural and rural policies and enhance the wellbeing of farmers and their households.
The data linkage is the result of a collaboration between government and academic organisations across the UK, including the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Public Health Wales. While data currently available only covers England and Wales, it is anticipated that data for Northern Ireland will follow. Methods for cross-UK federated analysis are in development.
AD|ARC: 2021 currently includes the following datasets which are each available for access by accredited researchers:
- Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection: 2021 – England
- Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection: 2021 – Wales.
Related datasets
Versions of AD|ARC are also available containing the 2011 Census for England and Wales, and the 2011 Census for Northern Ireland.
- Find out more about AD|ARC: 2011 – England and Wales
- Find out more about AD|ARC: 2011 – Northern Ireland.
Component datasets and linkage
AD|ARC links de-identified electronic records that are already collected by departments and public bodies across the governments of the UK. The datasets included in AD|ARC 2021 are: June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture (2021 England; 2022 Wales); Rural Payments subsidy data (2020-22 England; 2021 Wales); 2021 Census of Population (England and Wales); 2008-2023 Business Structure Database (England only); 2007-2023 Inter-Departmental Business Register (Wales only).
| Timeframe | 2010 -2022 (varies by dataset) |
|---|---|
| Update Frequency | Currently static |
| Population | Individuals living in farming households in England and Wales claiming Basic Payment Scheme subsidy payments; control groups of non-farming individuals living in similarly rural areas. |
| Coverage | England and Wales |
| Size | England 2021: Approx. 240,000 individuals resident in approx. 90,000 farms claiming subsidies in England. The dataset size for Wales will be available soon. |
Examples of research questions
Examples of research questions the data could be used to address:
- What are the characteristics of farming households that receive farm subsidies?
- How does educational attainment vary among farmers, and how does it compare with that of similarly located rural non‑farming individuals?
- How important is farm income as a share of total household income? Does this vary depending on different farm business, household socio-economic, and spatial attributes?
- What effect does being part of a farm household have on health and wellbeing outcomes, and does this vary by farm characteristics?
- How do labour market participation, occupational roles, and patterns of off‑farm employment differ among members of farming households compared with similar rural households, and how are these shaped by farm scale and enterprise type?
The above list is illustrative only and intended to demonstrate the research potential of the dataset. For AD|ARC’s research priorities, please see the areas of research interest and the ADR UK Research Fellowships funding opportunity.
Core documentation
Other supporting resources
Resource | Description |
2021 Census information | Find out more about the 2021 Census on the ONS website. |
The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) is a comprehensive list of UK businesses used by government for statistical purposes. | |
Rural Payments subsidy data | Find out more about the Rural Payments subsidy data for England and Wales. Please note that Rural Payments are a devolved issue so what is collected and by whom varies across the UK. |
June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture | The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture provides estimates of agricultural activity in England and Wales on an annual basis. |
With permission from data owners, the AD|ARC team have created a low-fidelity synthetic dataset to represent data from the EU Farm Structure Survey, Rural Payments Wales and ONS Census of Population 2011. | |
The project website including publications, documentation and news. |
Published research using the data
Accessing the data
Access the AD|ARC England Research-Ready Datasets via the ONS Secure Research Service. Access the AD|ARC Wales Research-Ready Dataset via the SAIL Databank. Researchers who are fully accredited under the Digital Economy Act (2017) can apply for access.
More information on how to access the AD|ARC dataset will be available soon. Please contact ad-arc@gov.wales with any questions.
Find out more
Find out more
You can find more information about the AD|ARC project and datasets on the AD|ARC Website, the AD|ARC project page, and via the ADR UK YouTube Channel.
The linked datasets are accessible separately within the ONS Secure Research Service for England, the SAIL Databank for Wales and will be made available via NISRA in Northern Ireland and Scotland’s National Safe Haven. Information about access points for each trusted research environment is available via the ADR UK website.
