EU Agricultural and Farm Economics Briefs
EU farms and farmers in 2013: an update
Farms are the basic organisational unit for agricultural
production. How many farms are there in the EU and how
has their number changed in recent years? Are they
becoming bigger and more specialised? And what about
the farmers who take production decisions and receive
CAP payments what do we know about them?
Every 3-4 years, new data on farm structures in the EU
become available1. They provide a long-awaited update of
key indicators for agricultural policy: farm numbers, farm
sizes, land ownership, livestock numbers, as well as
characteristics of the agricultural labour force. The latest
such update offers data from 2013 and preliminary
results have just been published. This brief summarises
the main findings, with a particular focus on farmers of
different age groups and the characteristics of their farms.
Data on farm structures are taken from Eurostat's Farm Structure Survey
(http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statisticsexplained/index.php/Glossary:Farm_structure_survey_(FSS)).
2013
data
are
preliminary and may still change in the near future.
Picture source: European Union
No. 9 November 2015
Main figures and trends in a nutshell
In 2013, a total of 10.8 million farms operated in the EU28, down from 12 million farms in 2010 (-11.5%). The
long-term decline in the number of agricultural
holdings thus continued - between 2005 and 2013 the
average annual rate of decline stood at -3.7%. While some
of these losses may be due to changes in survey
thresholds, it is clear that a consolidation process
towards larger, more competitive farms is taking place
across the EU, with an increase in the average farm size
from 14.4 to 16.1 ha of agricultural land (+12.2%)
between 2010 and 2013.
Key trends 2010-2013 (EU-28)
Standard Output
per holding
agricultural land
per holding
21,4%
12,2%
Changes in figures
per holding
livestock units per holding
8,7%
full-time jobs per holding
Farms are growing even more in economic terms. The
Standard Output per holding, which is a measure of the
economic farm size, increased by a remarkable 21%.
The increase in competitiveness is further expressed in the
lower number of regular agricultural workers (22
million in 2013, down from 25 million in 2010; -12.8%).
Converted into full-time jobs, the decline is less
pronounced (-4.4% between 2010 and 2013), indicating a
shift towards more full-time employment in agriculture.
While all key indicators declined in absolute terms, their
average numbers per holding increased, indicating a
trend towards bigger, more productive farms.
8,1%
agricultural land
-0,7%
livestock units
-3,8%
full-time jobs
number of
holdings
agricultural
workers
Changes in
absolute figures
-4,4%
-11,5%
-12,8%
-20,0%
-10,0%
0,0%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
Small farms and big farms
Despite this consolidation process, the majority of farms
in the EU are still very small. More than two-thirds of all
holdings work on less than 5 ha of agricultural land and
more than half have a Standard Output (i.e., a standardized
sales value over the course of one year) below 4 000 euros
or roughly 333 euros per month, before deduction of any
production costs.
The total area occupied by these small farms only comes
to 6%, while more than half of the agricultural land
belongs to farms which have more than 100 hectares.
From an environmental point of view, the practices on big
farms are thus much more significant than those on
smaller holdings.
The percentage of the smallest farms is constantly
declining. The gradual nature of the consolidation process
is shown in the slight increases for all other farm size
groups where a small farm stops operations, the land is
taken over by another farm, which then moves on to the
next size class.
Farms by land size class
EU-27
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
< 5 ha
5 - 9.9 ha 10 - 19.9 ha 20 - 29.9 ha 30 - 49.9 ha 50 - 99.9 ha 100 ha or
over
2005
2007
2010
2013
Agricultural land in farms of different size classes
EU-27
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
The overall number of big farms in the EU context is
still rather limited, with significant regional differences.
10,0%
0,0%
Less than 2 - 4.9 ha 5 - 9.9 ha 10 - 19.9 20 - 29.9 30 - 49.9 50 - 99.9 100 ha or
2 ha
ha
ha
ha
ha
over
2005
2007
2010
2013
Full time and part-time work
Clearly, such very small farms do not provide a viable
income for the farmer and his/her family. They are either
run as part-time operations, where other sources of
income play an important role, or they are used to
supplement retirement pensions with cash or food.
In 2013, 42% of all farmers worked full-time. The bigger
the farm, the greater the share of full-time farmers with
the exception of farms without any agricultural land at all
(mostly intensive pig and poultry holdings), which also
had a high share of full-time farmers.
Farmers' working pattern
EU-27, 2013
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
100 percent of a full-time
From 75 to 99 percent of a fulltime
From 50 to 74 percent of a fulltime
From 25 to 49 percent of a fulltime
From 1 to 24 percent of a full-time
Family and non-family work
In fact, even in 2013, 97% of all farms were held by a
single natural person (as opposed to legal entities and
group holdings), making them family farms for all intents
and purposes.
100%
Percent of annual work units
Family members still provide the bulk of agricultural
labour on EU farms (more than 75%), although the
importance of regular and non-regular labour input by
non-family members has increased since 2005.
Composition of labour force
EU-27
90%
80%
70%
Non-family labour force
working on non-regular basis
60%
50%
40%
Regular non family labour
force
30%
Family labour force
20%
10%
0%
2005
2007
2010
2013
Young farmers and elderly farmers
The majority of EU farmers (i.e., the persons responsible
for the day-to-day management of a farm) were older than
55 years and only 6% were younger than 35 years in 2013.
Close to one-third of all farmers are above the normal
retirement age of 65. The overall ratio of young (below 35
years) to elderly (over 55 years) farmers came to 0.11 in
2013, meaning that for every young farmer, there were 9
elderly farmers.
Between 2005 and 2013, the relative importance of the
different age groups has not changed significantly. Slight
changes in trends may be as much due to various changes
in survey methodology as to any real developments.
Age of farmers
EU-27; 2013
40%
31,1%
30%
24,7%
22,9%
15,3%
20%
6,0%
10%
0%
Less than 35
years
From 35 to 44
years
From 45 to 54
years
From 55 to 64 65 years or over
years
Farmers by age group
EU-27
40%
65 years or over
30%
In absolute terms, however, there has been a massive
decline in the number of elderly farmers (-1.3 million
between 2005 and 2013).
From 55 to 64 years
20%
From 45 to 54 years
10%
From 35 to 44 years
Less than 35 years
0%
2005
2007
2010
2013
Farmers by age group (absolute numbers)
EU-27
5.000.000
4.000.000
3.000.000
2.000.000
1.000.000
0
2005
2007
2010
2013
Less than 35 From 35 to 44From 45 to 54From 55 to 64 65 years or
years
years
years
years
over
Average land size by age group
EU-27
Farm sizes differ with farmers' age
35
30
hectares/holding
While average farm sizes have increased for farmers of all
age groups, the preliminary figures for 2013 suggest that
this has been most significant for the youngest farmers. In
fact, they now own the biggest farms, surpassing those of
middle-aged farmers. The oldest farmers hold by far the
smallest farms, giving further support to the idea that
agricultural activities here serve mainly as a supplement to
a pension or as a hobby.
25
2005
20
15
2007
10
2010
2013
0
Less than 35 From 35 to 44 From 45 to 54 From 55 to 64
years
years
years
years
Standard Output per holding by age class
EU-27
euros per holding
For economic farm size, remarkable improvements are
visible for all age groups, but most significantly again for
the youngest farmers. Their farms now seem to have a
similar economic size as those of well-established farmers
up to the age of 54. The oldest farmers have the smallest
farms in economic terms, in line with their small average
land size, but even here, there is an upward trend.
65 years or
over
50.000
45.000
40.000
35.000
30.000
25.000
20.000
15.000
10.000
5.000
0
2005
2007
2010
2013
Less than 35 From 35 to 44 From 45 to 54 From 55 to 64 65 years or
years
years
years
years
over
Training levels much room for improvement
Even in 2013, the vast majority of EU farmers have
learned their profession only through practical experience.
This is particularly the case for the oldest farmers, among
which more than 80% never had any agricultural training.
More worrying, however, is the fact that this also applies
to over 60% of the youngest farmers, who will need
advanced knowledge if they want to stay in business.
While roughly 20% of all farmers have received basic
training, a meagre 9% have followed a full agricultural
training course this is more common among the younger
age groups.
Fewer young people in agriculture than in
other sectors
Looking beyond farm managers to the overall agricultural
labour force, the proportion of young people in the
agricultural sector (31.5%) is lower than in any other
sector of the economy (43% on average)2. On the other
hand, agriculture seems to be the sector in which it is most
common for people to continue work after the age of 65.
Training level by age group
EU-27, 2013
100%
80%
Less than 35 years
60%
From 35 to 44 years
40%
From 45 to 54 years
20%
From 55 to 64 years
0%
practical experience
only
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
basic training
full agricultural
training
65 years or over
Employment by age group in different sectors
EU-28, 2014
65 years or over
From 40 to 64 years
From 15 to 39 years
2
Eurostat, Labour Force Survey 2014.
In summary
Agriculture in the EU is undergoing a steady but non-dramatic process of structural change.
Farms are getting bigger and more productive, with a declining dependence on labour, but there are still vast numbers of very small farms, primarily
run in a part-time fashion and often by elderly farmers.
Roughly 75% of agricultural labour is provided by family members.
While the number of elderly farmers has declined quite drastically over the years, they still represent the majority of farmers in Europe. In fact,
agriculture is the sector in which it is most common for people to continue work after the age of 65.
Young farmers hold bigger farms; they are also the best-trained group of EU-farmers, even though much more could be done to increase overall
training levels.
This document does not necessarily represent the official views of
the European Commission
Contact: DG Agriculture and Rural Development
Economic Analysis of EU Agriculture
Tel: +32-2-29 91111 / E-mail: Agri-E3@ec.europa.eu
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rural-areaeconomics/briefs/index_en.htm
European Union, 2015 - Reproduction authorized provided the
source is acknowledged
