Archive:Farm structure in Germany - 2007 results
- Data from December 2008. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article is one of a series of country-specific reports on the results of the European Union (EU) Farm structure survey (FSS) 2007. It provides a brief but nevertheless comprehensive insight into farm structure in Germany.
The 2007 FSS shows that 370 500 agricultural holdings were recorded in Germany (5 % less than in 2005) and that 23 % of the agricultural holdings are engaged in other gainful economic activities in addition to traditional farming.
Main statistical findings
In 2007, 94 % of German agricultural holdings (348 500) had an economic size of at least one European size unit (ESU), compared with 371 000 in 2005. This represents a 6 % reduction.
The farms used about 16.9 million ha of utilised agricultural area (UAA), a decrease of 1 % compared with 2005. This area represented 99.6 % of the UAA in Germany and indicates an average of 48 hectares (ha) per holding (compared with 46 ha in 2005).The distribution of UAA by holding size is shown in Figure 1, while Table 2 tabulates agricultural holdings by size.
The German holdings employed 600 000 annual work units (AWUs), the equivalent of 600 000 people working full time. This was 5 % less than in 2005. Figure 2 describes the organization of the German farm labour force and Table 1 relates the labour force to the size of farms.
The holdings contained 18 million livestock unit (LSUs) in 2007, slightly less (1 %) than in 2005 (see Figure 3).
Amongst these 348 500 agricultural holdings:
- 35 % made use of less than one AWU, while another 27 % made use of two or more AWUs;
- 7 % used less than two ha, while 25 % used 50 ha or more;
- 45 % of German farms specialised in livestock, a 2 % increase compared with the 2005 value;
- 21 % of the holdings specialised in dairy farming;
- 14 % specialised in cereals, oil seed and protein crops;
- 10 % of the holdings were raising sheep, goats and other grazing livestock.
The family labour force has decreased by 7 % from 2005 to 2007 and now represents 68 % of the total labour force in German holdings.
Amongst the sole holders:
- 9 % were women,
- 29 % were aged 55 or more and 8 % were younger than 35 years, and
- 45 % of the sole holders had another gainful activity in 2007 and for 40 % this other activity was the main gainful activity.
In Germany in 2007, 37 % of the agricultural area was farmed by its owners.
23 % of all German holdings have another gainful activity.
4 % of the holdings are classified as practicing organic farming. The area of organic farming in Germany increased by 7 % from 2005 to 2007. Table 3 describes land use by size of farm.
The production of renewable energy has risen, involving 7 % of holdings in 2007 compared to 4 % in 2005.
There was a 15 % increase in the rape and turnip area from 2005 to 2007. The amount of arable land occupied by these crops increased, from 11 % in 2005 to 13 % in 2007.
In general, there was a decrease in the number of livestock, except for equidae (e.g horses) which grew by 5 %, pigs (+1 %) and poultry (+4 %). Table 4 gives further details on livestock distribution by size of farm, while Table 5 presents figures for subsistence farming in Germany.
Data sources and availability
Due to the different coverage of the FSS across Member States, the total number of farms is not comparable between countries. This is why the present analysis, including Tables 1-4 and the graphs focus on holdings of at least one European size unit (ESU).
The 2007 FSS was a decentralised statistical operation carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany by the Federal Statistical Office in collaboration with the statistical offices of the Länder (the 15 regions making up the Federal Republic of Germany). The survey was organised using a combination of exhaustive surveys (for the land, livestock, labour force and their other gainful activities and profit accounting and tax) and sample surveys (for tenure, sources of income from outside the holding, production and use of animal origin fertilizers, more detailed information on the labour force, other non-agricultural gainful activities related to the holding). Only the full records were transmitted to Eurostat.
The reference period for land use, labour force and other gainful activities was the period between May 2006 and April 2007, for livestock characteristics it was the 3rd of May 2007. The threshold for including an agricultural holding in the FSS 2007 was having an UAA of at least two hectares. Farms with less than two ha were included if they had at least eight bovines or pigs, or 20 sheep, or 200 poultry (hens, cocks, geese, ducks or turkeys), or 0.3 ha of one of the following crops: vineyards, fruit trees, hops, tobacco, nurseries, outdoor cultivation of vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants, aromatic, medicinal or culinary plants, garden seeds, or 0.03ha of vegetables, flowers or ornamental plants under glass.
The frame for the survey was the Farm Register (374 500 holdings) which was consolidated with the 2003 FSS and with administrative sources such as the Integrated administrative and control system (IACS) and the Livestock register. For the sample survey a total of about 96 700 farms were selected from 26 strata using a single stage stratified sample. The sampling was based on geographical location, typology, and the UAA. The sample also included a separate stratum of all the new farms. Administrative sources (IACS) were also used in 10 of the 15 Länder for some of the land use and livestock characteristics. Depending on the Länder, personal interviews, postal surveys, telephone surveys or on-line surveys were used for data capture for the German 2007 FSS.
Between FSS 2005 and 2007 "maintaining land in good agricultural and environmental conditions" (GAEC) became an agricultural activity and land concerned with this new activity has been included in the agricultural area. In Germany it covers close to 12 100 ha, 87 % in holdings with at least 1 ESU. For each activity (`enterprise`) on a farm (for instance wheat, dairy cow or vineyard production), a Standard gross margin is estimated, based on the area (or the head count) and a regional coefficient. The sum of such margins in a farm is its economic size, expressed in European size units (ESU). One ESU is equivalent to a 1200 EUR SGM.
An annual work unit (AWU) is equivalent to a worker employed on a full time basis for one year. In Germany it is equivalent to 1760 hours (220 working days of 8 working hours per day).
A livestock unit(LSU) is equivalent to a dairy cow. The number of animals (head count) is converted into a LSU value using a set of coefficients reflecting the feed requirements of the different animal categories.
Context
Rural development policy aims to improve competitiveness in agriculture and forestry, improve the environment and countryside, improve the quality of life in rural areas and encourage the diversification of rural economies. As agriculture has modernised and the importance of industry and services within the economy has increased, so agriculture has become much less important as a source of jobs. Consequently, increasing emphasis is placed on the role farmers can play in rural development, including forestry, biodiversity, the diversification of the rural economy to create alternative jobs and environmental protection in rural areas.
The FSS continues to adapt to provide timely and relevant data to help analyse and follow these developments.
See also
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Farm structure in Germany - 2007 - Statistics in focus 39/2009
- National Methodological Report – FSS 2007 (available on request)
Main tables
- Agriculture, see:
- Farm structure: historical data (1990-2007) (t_ef)
Database
- Agriculture, see:
- Farm structure (ef)
Dedicated section
- Ad-hoc tables: Farm Structure Survey
Methodology / Metadata
- Farm structure (ESMS metadata file — ef_esms)