With the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and calls for establishing a new agricultural policy, it is pertinent to examine the role that disadvantage plays within support for farm incomes. We matched farm business survey data with land capability and other biophysical data to understand the impact of biophysical and distance based disadvantage on viability. We derive five indicators of viability, ranging from vulnerable to robust and resilient. An ordinal logistic regression then measures the effect of biophysical and distance based disadvantage on viability. We find biophysical criteria affects viability, but other factors such as attitudes and farm structural decision making has a positive influence of viability status.