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Increased attention for sustainability in agricultural production within the food sector has enhanced the need for farm-level information. This article aims to explore stakeholders' perceptions of sustainability measurement at farm level in an established monitoring system. Qualitative research, including discussion groups and semi-structured interviews in nine European countries, identifi es existing divergences in perceptions, especially for those indicators not expected to be used for farm-level decision making. The perception of feasibility and usefulness of an indicator is determined by (a) indicators' intrinsic attributes, (b) the measurement system in which it is inserted, (c) farm characteristics and (d) farmers' attitudes toward the measurement. Identifying stakeholders' perceptions could help to improve the discussion between researchers and users in the selection, communication and use of sustainability information along the agricultural sector.

To achieve social sustainability, there is a need to incorporate social metrics of farmers’ well‐being into agricultural monitoring systems. We contribute to the operationalisation of the measurement of farmers’ well‐being by determining how farm‐level factors influence farmers’ satisfaction with their work and quality of life. Using a data sample of 1099 farms that are part of the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) in nine European countries, we tested a set of hypotheses related to work satisfaction and life quality perception based on a structural equation model. Satisfaction with on‐farm work has a significant and substantial influence on satisfaction with quality of life. Farm‐level aspects, such as working time, age of assets, financial situation of the farm and community engagement, significantly influenced farmers’ satisfaction with farming, but their joint effect explained less than one‐fifth of the satisfaction. The results suggest that agricultural information systems intended to monitor and compare sustainability progress on farms would benefit from the integration of a metric measuring social concerns from the farmers’ point of view.

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