Data covering soil management practices and farm characteristics on Swiss arable farms

Summary

Soil health is the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture, but studies have shown that agricultural soils are degrading due to inadequate soil management practice adoption. To understand the status quo, we surveyed 2,728 Swiss arable farms in 2024. The dataset captures the soil management practices used alongside the decision-making surrounding their implementation in the 2022/2023 production season. Four core components are covered: (1) farm and farmer characteristics, including gender, age, experience, labour, farm size and Agri-environmental scheme participation; (2) detailed records of twelve arable soil management practices, including uptake extent, number of years used, perceived knowledge and peer adoption; (3) farmers’ priorities for soil health and their assessment of key agricultural challenges; and (4) production data for a subset of farms cultivating milling wheat, including wheat area, wheat yield and input application rates. We enriched the dataset with linked secondary plot-level census data. This combined dataset provides a comprehensive resource that enables the analysis of current farming practices, knowledge gaps and challenges to maintain and improve the health of arable soils.