By combing the theoretical frameworks of digital skills and combining it with the local practices in rural China, this paper developed a DiSSF (Digital Skills Scale for Farmers) including "operational skills", "information skills", "social skills", "creative skills", "safety skills", "problem-solving skills", and "digital farming income skills". The DiSSF was assessed and applied based on a stratified random sampling survey (N = 684). It found that the overall level of Chinese farmers' digital skills was low, esp. in "information skills", "safety skills" and "digital farming income skills". Guiding digital agricultural increase, strengthening digital safety education, and accelerating the cultivation of new professional farmers were suggested the most significant directions for the future of China's digital countryside and rural revitalization.