Policies involving agriculture require information about production of commodities and about the firms that produce them. Understanding the behaviour of the family-firm is central to many issues and increasingly relevant as objectives evolve and the pluriactive nature of farm households is recognised. Policy reform is likely to concentrate interest on the welfare of the agricultural household and the various sources of income that accrue to it. However, statistics that have the household-firm at their centre are poorly developed compared with those on agricultural activity. Reasons are explored and opportunities identified to correct this imbalance.