To ensure that the sample of farms adequately reflects this heterogeneity, Liaison Agencies stratify the field of observation before the sample of farms is selected. Typology For FADN purposes the European Union is divided into FADN regions . All farms in FADN's field of observation are classified into economic size classes and type of farming . A detailed typology has been created for use by various bodies at European Union level. It is sufficiently broad to encompass the many different types of farming that are found in the European Union.
Typology identifies the principal types of farming, which are then further broken down.
Types of farming are defined in terms of the relative importance of the different enterprises on the farm. For the purpose of computing Standard Results, the Commission uses groups of farming types. For more information on how these Standard Results are calculated and published, refer to Diffusion chapter . Each cell corresponds to a specific category of farms. Sample farms are thus selected from each cell - in this way all the cells are, in principle, represented in the sample.