Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Areas of the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein Imprint Published by: Ministry for Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Areas of Land Schleswig-Holstein Mercatorstrasse 3, D-2416 Kiel, Germany May 27 Photographs: T. Eisenkrätzer, H.-G. Oed, www.fotolia.de Layout: conrat, agency for marketing and communication Produced by: A. C. Ehlers Press Print run: 5 This brochure is printed on 1% recycled paper. It must not be used for the purpose of canvassing in election campaigns, either by political parties or by persons engaged in election publicity or other election work. Even if no election is impending, the publication shall not be used in such a way that it might be interpreted as a preference of the Land Government for specific groups. The parties are, however, permitted to use the publication for informing their own members. www.agrarbericht-sh.de Agricultural Industry in Schleswig-Holstein Facts and Figures The Land Government on the Internet: www.landesregierung.schleswig-holstein.de
Despite the structural changes that have occurred in the last few decades, our agriculture is one of Schleswig-Holstein s most successful and competitive industries. Our region offers ideal conditions for agricultural production: a healthy climate, good soil, and plenty of water. Agriculture has moulded our region: it shapes the rural areas and is a key element for the Land s future success. Our agriculture is primarily a producer of food. In addition it contributes increasingly to tourism, energy production, nature conservation, and direct marketing. It is a sector of the economy that people are keen to do business with. Compared with the rest of Germany and with Europe as a whole, Schleswig-Holstein is a leader in agriculture. The Land Government attaches great importance to ensuring sustained income and protecting existing jobs, as well as to production in ways that benefit consumers, the environment, and flora and fauna. Since 24, Schleswig-Holstein has maintained an interactive agricultural report on the Net. It provides data that are continually updated, with links to information from other organisations. It offers important content for farmers, who rely on the Internet to an increasing extent in their day-to-day work. This agricultural report in paper form combines data from the Statistical Office of Hamburg and Schleswig- Holstein (Statistikamt Nord) and business statistics as well as annual accounts for the financial year 25/26. Its main conclusion: farmers incomes are declining, especially compared with the relatively good preceding years. However, there is no cause for pessimism. Many businesses are well prepared for the future. This sector has better assets than exist in many other parts of the economy. A task for a sustainable agricultural policy is to define a route away from dependence on subsidies that must meet the requirements of producing healthy food of high quality, while also maintaining environmentallyfriendly land management practices. Both aspects are essential for feeding the world, while at the same time retaining the existing pattern of farming. Good farming means not only agricultural production but also nature conservation, areas for recreation, and cultural traditions. However, these are functions for which there is no market, but which nevertheless are of great value to our community. Therefore, it is justified that the state should reward farmers work in caring for nature and the environment. The Land Government will continue to support agriculture by encouraging investment and by environmental and related programmes.
The contents are wide-ranging Through the website www.agrarbericht-sh.de, the agricultural and environmental authorities provide economic data and information about the structure of the agricultural industry, about animal and plant production, horticulture, ecological land management, fisheries, and the food industry. The aspects covered include comparisons between Schleswig-Holstein and other German Laender, training and continued professional development, and issues related to rural areas. You will find data about topics such as farm incomes, the different districts, public funding, and contact details. Questions? www.agrarbericht-sh.de is the virtual information center for all matters relating to agriculture in Schleswig-Holstein. Are you interested in knowing which products are exported by Schleswig-Holstein agriculture, and to which countries of the European Union they go? Do you need data on incomes and profits in agriculture? www.agrarbericht-sh.de will provide the answers. www.agrarbericht-sh.de Do you want to know how many agricultural holdings are involved in the production of animal fodder? Would you like to know the proportions of arable land and grassland in the total area used for agriculture? Do you need data about the numbers of agricultural holdings grouped according to size? Are you looking for information about supporting measures for the agricultural sector in Schleswig-Holstein? Table on right: The agricultural structures of the member countries of the EU differ greatly. In the EU-25, 9.9 million holdings cultivate about 156 million hectares, and thus the average farm area is about 16 ha. In Schleswig-Holstein, 17,6 holdings cultivate about 1 million hectares, so that the average farm size is 55 ha. These and other data and facts are collected in the table, with comparisons between the EU, Germany, and Schleswig-Holstein.
Schleswig-Holstein s agriculture compared Some data have been rounded. Unit EU-15*) EU-25**) Germany Schleswig-Holstein Economical data Profit per business Euro / farm 24/5 18.97 25/6 36. 25/6 42. Profit in relation to workers employed Euro / employee 24/5 14.119 25/6 23. 25/6 26.5 Profit per hectare UAA 2) Euro / ha 24/5 53 25/6 59 25/6 53 Direct payments and subsidies Euro / farm 24/5 11.35 25/6 24.3 25/6 28.9 Agriculture as a proportion of the total economy Percentage of GDP 1) (at current prices) % 25 1,5 p 25,6 p 25 1,6 p Percentage of workers employed in agriculture % 25 3,7 25 4,9 25 2,2 25 3,5 Agricultural structure Farms with more than 2 ha UAA 2) Number 23 6.329. 4) 23 9.871. 4) 25 366. 25 17.66 Ø farm size ha / farm 23 2,2 23 15,8 25 46 25 55 Percentage of farms with less than 5 ha UAA 2) % 23 56,6 23 61,9 25 17,4 25 17,1 Percentage of farms with more than 1 ha UAA 2) % 23 4,1 23 2,8 25 8,3 25 16,6 Percentage of UAA that is rented land 2) % 23 43,4 23 47,5 25 62,4 25 51 Organic farming Producers Number 24 129. 24 141. 25 13.7 26 467 Percentage of all farms % 24 2,1 24 1,4 25 3,5 26 2,6 UAA 2) ha 24 5.91. 24 5.7. 25 784. 26 32. Percentage of total land area % 24 3,9 24 3,5 25 4,6 26 3,2 Land use Total area ha 25 323.463. 25 397.321. 25 35.73. 25 1.576. UAA 2) ha 23 126.55. p 23 156.32. p 25 17.35. 26 997.6 UAA 2) as % of total land area % 25 39 25 39 25 48 26 64 Permanent grassland ha 23 46.631. p 23 54.795. p 25 4.929. 26 346. Arable land ha 24 73.11. 24 97.685. 25 11.93. 26 644. Cereals, all types ha 23 37.31. 23 51.96.6 26 6.727. p 26 317. Winter rape ha 24 3.221. 3) 24 4.422. 3) 26 1.426. p 26 113. Sugar-beet ha 24 1.697.3 24 2.24. 26 358. p 26 1. Potatoes ha 24 1.224. 24 2.174. 26 274. p 26 5.5 Fodder production ha 24 14.163. 24 16.7. 25 1.85. 26 156. Crop yields Total cereals dt / ha 24 61 25 55 26 65 26 8 Wheat dt / ha 25 66 25 6 26 72 26 87 Sugar-beet dt / ha 24 641 24 597 26 359 26 574 Potatoes dt / ha 24 391 24 33 26 358 26 331 Livestock Total numbers of boviness thousands 25 76. p 25 86. p 26 12.776 p 26 1.15 Average cattle herd size 23 59 23 33 25 71 26 125 Total dairy cows thousands 23 19.3 24 23.4 26 4.117 p 26 33 Average dairy herd size 23 32 23 13 25 38 26 58 Total number of pigs thousands 24 122.7 24 151.1 26 26.451 p 26 1.5 Average pig stock per farm 23 177 23 68 23 33 26 68 Milk production 1.t / year 26 141. p 26 27.8 p 26 2.337 Average annual milk production per cow kg / year 25 6.51 25 4.898 p 25 6.761 p 26 6.97 Horticulture / vegetables / fruit Horticultural holdings Number 23 167. 23 234. 25 12.6 25 8 Fresh vegetables: area under cultivation 5) ha 23 2.1. 25 16. 26 6.4 Fresh vegetables: annual production 5) t / year 23 57.7. 26 3.17.218 26 361.153 Land area for apple-growing ha 22 245. 25 31.2 26 5 Land area for strawberry-growing ha 24 42. 24 96. 25 18.8 26 9 *) EU-15 = Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, United Kingdom **) EU-25 = EU-15 plus Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia p = provisional data = no data available ha = hectare 1) = Gross domestic product 2) = Utilised Agricultural Area 3) = Rape and root crops 4) = Total number of holdings 5) = Calculated from profit figures; for EU and Germany, combined figure for open field and under-glass production for Schleswig- Holstein, only open field production
Number of agricultural holdings classified by activity, 25 Number of agricultural holdings classified by size (ha UAA) Specialists grazing livestock 62.7% Specialists field crops 19.% Mixed crops-livestock holdings 12.4% Specialists granivores 1.3% Specialists permanent crops.7% Specialists horticulture 3.9% In Schleswig-Holstein, grazing livestock specialists predominate in numbers and in land area, with 62.7% of the total. Field crops specialists have a share of 19.%, mixed holdings (combination of crop-growing and cattle-rearing) 12.4%, granivores specialists 1.3%, and horticultural (market garden) specialists 3.9%. The growing of permanent crops plays only an insignificant role in Schleswig-Holstein. 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 8.126 3.171 3.357 3.31 2-5 6.73 2.448 2.258 2.89 5-1 13.159 3.941 2.49 1.854 9.782 5.158 1.25 1.11 5.65 4.964 1.17 1.2 2.882 3.737 1.254 1.35 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-75 75-1 1-2 2 and over Agricultural activities in holdings with 2 to 5 hectares mainly are secondary or hobby activities. The proportion of holdings with between 5 and 2 hectares of utilised agricultureal areas has not changed greatly over the past twenty years. There has been a significant reduction in the number of holdings with between 2 and 1 hectares. The number of businesses with more than 1 hectares however has increased considerably. 2.282 4.26 2.962 2.6 595 1.22 2.181 1.992 571 823 2.258 2.352 196 198 21 25 234 52 59 Farmland classified by type, 26 Permanent grassland 34.7% Root crops 1.6% Cereals 31.8% Rape 11.3% Fodder crops 15.6% Set-aside land 3.1% Other land 1.9% 1 8 6 4 2 Yields of cereals (winter wheat, winter barley, rye) from 197 to the end of 26 (dt/ha) Winter wheat Winter barley Rye 197 75 8 85 9 95 2 5 About 65% of the utilised agricultural area (UAA) is arable land, and nearly 35% is permanent grassland. Of the cereals grown, winter-sown wheat predominates, with a share of 61%, far exceeding winter barley with 24%. Winter-sown rape is grown on 11% of the land area. The cereal yields have increased steadily, although with variations depending on weather. The yields per hectare in Schleswig- Holstein are typically more than 2% higher than the average for Germany as a whole. Yields of winter wheat in the last few years have often exceeded 9 decitonnes (dt) per hectare (1 decitonne = 1 kg). In the record harvest of 21 they almost topped 1 decitonnes per hectare.
Income per employee and profit per holding People in agricultural training, 26 5 4 3 2 1 Income per employee Profit per business 19.34 25.454 15.435 2.4 2.676 26.76 82/83 87/88 92/93 23.931 35.31 97/98 26.878 43.81 /1 22.94 36.37 1/2 2.885 31.92 26.58 42.36 2/3 5/6 Agricultural Landwirtsch. laboratory Laborant technician,1 % Animal Tierwirt caretaker,8 % Dairy Molkereifachmann worker 2,5 % Housekeeping Hauswirtschafterin 2,6 % Forest Forstwirt manager 1,9 % Fisherman Fischwirt 2,4 % Professional Pferdewirt rider/stablehand 7,7 % Dairy Milchwirtschaft. laboratory technician Laborant 2,8 % Gardener Gärtner 4,6 % Gamekeeper Revierjäger,2 % Agricultural Fachkraft services Agrarservice specialist 1,8 % Farmer Landwirt 36,5 % For the financial year 25/26, businesses in Schleswig-Holstein that derive their main income from agriculture showed an average profit of EUR 42,36 per business. Compared with the previous year, this is a reduction of 7.5%. The average income per employee was EUR 26,58, which is 5.8% less than in the previous year. Compared with 25, the number of agricultural trainees increased by almost 4%, to 865 in horticulture and 776 in agriculture. Exports of agricultural and food products, 25 Cattle Rindvieh 1,4% MilkMilch 14,6% Cheese Käse 2,7% Meat Fleisch and meat und -waren products 19,6% FishFische 5,1% Wheat Weizen 7,1% Barley Gerste 2,6% Preserved Gemüse-, vegetable, Obst-, Fruchtsaftkonserven fruit and fruitjuice products und and -zubereitungen preparations 1,1% Cocoa Kakao and und cocoa -erzeugnisse products 3,5% Sugar Zucker 2,5% Oil Ölfrüchte seed crops 2,3% Ornamental ziergärtnerische plants Erzeugung 1,4% Leaf Rohtabak tobacco, und tobacco -erzeugnisse products 2,8% Other übrige agricultural Agrarerzeugnisse products 33,2% The most important animal-derived exports were meat and sausage products (19.6%) and milk (14.6%). These groups of products accounted for about 35% of total agricultural exports. The rest of the agricultural products, such as potatoes and potato products, vegetables, and oils and fats from plants or animals, made up 33.2% of exports in 25.