RISE (Response Inducing Sustainability Evaluation) is an indicator-based method for assessing environmental, economic, and social sustainability at the farm level and has been applied to more than 6,000 farms worldwide. Its use in Central Europe, and particularly in Slovakia, remains limited. This study presents the first documented application of RISE 3.0 in Slovakia and provides an exploratory assessment of its suitability for comparing contrasting production systems, including regenerative agriculture. Using a qualitative case-study approach, RISE 3.0 was applied to two Slovak family farms with different production orientations: a regenerative crop farm and a livestock-based dairy farm. Data were collected through structured on-site and remote interviews and analyzed using the RISE software, with results visualized through sustainability polygons. The regenerative crop farm achieved high scores in Energy and Climate (90) and Biodiversity (71), reflecting the benefits of low-input and soil-conserving practices, but showed weaker performance in Water Use (65) and Economic Viability (60). The livestock farm performed strongly in Animal Welfare (97) and Working Conditions (80), while challenges were identified in Water Use (72) and Economic Viability (65). These results illustrate clear system-specific sustainability profiles rather than directly comparable overall performance. The findings confirm the value of RISE 3.0 as a farm-level advisory and diagnostic tool but also reveal methodological limitations in cross-system comparison, particularly when regenerative and livestock systems are assessed using a fixed indicator set. The study contributes novel empirical evidence from Slovakia and highlights the need for greater indicator flexibility to better capture emerging farming models while maintaining the tool’s holistic framework.
indicator-based assessment, farm-level analysis, regenerative agriculture, livestock systems, decision-support tools