Abstract A readily available method for predicting the noise propagated from an agricultural enterprise to the farm boundary would enable this noise to be more easily reduced. This paper reviews the theory and practice of outdoor sound propagation modelling. The contributions of geometric divergence, atmospheric absorption, barriers, the ground effect and meteorological conditions are described. Theoretical models and empirical schemes for predicting noise propagation are considered. The importance of the ground effect indicates potential for reducing environmental noise through farmland management. Current limitations on the ability to predict noise propagated over farm land are owing to a lack of knowledge about the characteristics of typical field surfaces, difficulty in modelling some typical meteorological conditions and the long computation times required.