Field and farm records: which data, why, and under which rules?

A grower who knows what was done on each parcel makes the next decision with less guesswork. Record keeping is the raw material for those decisions and, increasingly, a legal obligation. This guide sets out which data to keep at parcel level and why, which decision each record feeds, and the record-keeping rules that a grower in Kozan and a grower in Larissa have to follow.

The basic unit: parcel and crop

Both Türkiye and the EU ask for records by parcel and by crop. Türkiye's plant protection regulation published in December 2025 requires the producer record book to be kept per parcel and per crop, with a separate record for every crop and parcel (Official Gazette of Türkiye, 2025). In the EU, the place where a pesticide was applied is identified, where possible, by the land unit in the IACS geospatial aid application; crops are named with EPPO codes and growth stages with the BBCH scale (European Commission, 2023). In practice: link every record to the parcel number used in ÇKS or in your aid application, and open separate records when one parcel carries two crops.

Which data, and why?

Records become decisions when they sit side by side: several years of yield, fertiliser and pesticide records for the same parcel show which input actually paid off. Building yield maps from combine data and moving to variable-rate fertilisation is covered in a separate guide on this platform.

Türkiye: ÇKS, the producer record book and GTS

The Farmer Registration System (Çiftçi Kayıt Sistemi, ÇKS) is the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's database of farmers and their farming activities; support payments are based on ÇKS data once the Ministry has checked it. Under the current regulation, applications for a production year open on 1 September of the previous year and close on 31 December; land acquired or rented after that date can be registered until 30 June. Crop information on registered land can be updated between 15 March and 15 April, and second or third crops can be declared until 30 June. Applications go to the provincial or district directorate, or through e-Devlet for the procedures authorised online. Farmers are responsible for the accuracy of their declarations; land declared under a written undertaking is checked with satellite imagery or on the spot by inspection committees (MoAF, ÇKS Regulation).

For plant protection, the Regulation on the Application and Control of Plant Protection Products of 13 December 2025 moved the producer record book (üretici kayıt defteri, ÜKD) into an electronic system. The ÜKD holds producer, site and crop details, the date and operator of each pesticide application, and the harvest date and quantity. Operators enter their records into the Ministry's system within three days, and the data are kept for five years; the producer adds the harvest date and quantity and hands a printout of the ÜKD to the buyer at the point of sale. The Ministry decides which crops require a record book, taking into account the residue monitoring programme and import and export notifications, and publishes the list online. The regulation entered into force in pilot provinces 30 days after publication and has applied in the remaining provinces since 1 July 2026 (Official Gazette of Türkiye, 2025).

For fertilisers, the Ministry's Fertiliser Tracking System (Gübre Takip Sistemi, GTS) traces fertilisers placed on the market from packaging to the end user with QR codes and DNA barcodes; a farmer can scan the QR code on a bag and receive an SMS confirmation (MoAF, GTS). GTS verifies where the fertiliser came from; the parcel, rate and date data needed for a nutrient balance and a fertiliser plan still have to be kept in the farm's own records.

EU and Greece: IACS, the paying agency and electronic pesticide records

In the EU, area-based and animal-based payments under the Common Agricultural Policy are managed through the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS). Its components include the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), which identifies agricultural parcels; the geospatial aid application (GSA), in which farmers mark on a map the areas they claim for; and the Area Monitoring System (AMS), which observes, tracks and assesses farming activity (European Commission, IACS). For many years the paying agency operating this system in Greece was OPEKEPE. Under Greek Law 5264/2025, OPEKEPE's competences passed to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) on 1 January 2026, and AADE became Greece's accredited paying agency (Greek Government Gazette, 2025). For a grower in Larissa, AADE is now the counterpart for the annual aid application.

EU rules on pesticide records have also tightened. Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 already required professional users to record the name of the product, the time and dose of application, the area treated and the crop. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564 made it mandatory from 1 January 2026 to keep these records electronically in a machine-readable format. Each use is recorded without undue delay; a record started on paper must be transferred into the electronic format within 30 days at the latest. If the competent authority asks for records before that period has expired, the information is provided in electronic format before the period ends or within 10 working days, whichever comes first. Following a 2025 amendment, Member States may choose not to require the electronic transfer for uses before 1 January 2027 (European Commission, 2023).

FSDN and FaST: data flowing back to the farm

The EU's Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) was converted into the Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) by Regulation (EU) 2023/2674. The FSDN collects annual data from around 75,000 farms, a sample representing 3.5 million farms and 90% of the EU's agricultural production. From 2025, environmental and social data are being added step by step to the income and business data, such as quantities of fertilisers, pesticides, feed and antimicrobials and the management of manure, water and energy. Participation is voluntary; participating farmers get reports comparing their results with similar farms, and the network follows a "collect once, reuse multiple times" approach, drawing on existing national and EU databases (European Commission, FSDN).

On nutrients, the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 requires farm advisory services to cover, at the latest from 2024, the use of a Farm Sustainability Tool for Nutrients (FaST). The regulation defines FaST as any digital application that provides at least a balance of the main nutrients at field scale, the legal requirements on nutrients, soil data based on available information and analyses, and IACS data relevant for nutrient management (EU, 2021). The soil analysis and fertiliser records in the table above are the core inputs for such a tool.

Three steps to start

1. Put the parcel numbers from ÇKS or your aid application into a single list and link every record to them.
2. Record each pesticide application on the day: in Türkiye the legal deadline for the operator is three days, and in the EU a paper record must be transferred to electronic format within 30 days.
3. Write down harvest quantities per parcel; once yield, cost and input records sit side by side, it becomes clear which parcel is paying its way.

Sources

1. T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı, 2014 (2025'e kadarki değişikliklerle). Çiftçi Kayıt Sistemi Yönetmeliği, Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (accessed 29 September 2026)
2. T.C. Resmî Gazete, 2025. Bitki Koruma Ürünlerinin Uygulanması ve Denetimine İlişkin Yönetmelik (13.12.2025, sayı 33106) (accessed 29 September 2026)
3. T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı. Gübre Takip Sistemi (GTS) (accessed 29 September 2026)
4. European Commission, 2023. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564 on the content and format of the records of plant protection products kept by professional users (consolidated text as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2203) (accessed 29 September 2026)
5. Εφημερίδα της Κυβερνήσεως, 2025. Νόμος 5264/2025 (ΦΕΚ Α 239/19.12.2025), Μέρος Γ: μεταφορά του ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ στην ΑΑΔΕ (κείμενο μέσω ΓΕΩΤ.Ε.Ε.) (accessed 29 September 2026)
6. European Commission, DG AGRI. Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) (accessed 29 September 2026)
7. European Commission, DG AGRI. Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) (accessed 29 September 2026)
8. European Parliament and Council, 2021. Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 on CAP Strategic Plans, Article 15(4)(g), consolidated text (FAOLEX) (accessed 29 September 2026)