Structure of holdings
Up until 1990 structural data relating to Austria’s agriculture was collated as part of the agricultural and forestry farm censuses (full surveys) conducted every ten years. Initial adaptations to EU requirements were made as early as 1993 (sample) in conformity with Austria’s forthcoming accession to the European Union. When Austria did accede in 1995, a complete survey (census) was carried out to record agriculture and forestry in its totality according to the new stipulations in order to obtain a solid database for the subsequent sample survey in 1997. The next census (world agricultural census) took place in 1999; sample surveys followed in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The next mandatory census is scheduled for 2010.
Farms and farm structure
Trend towards larger agricultural and forestry holdings
According to the farm structure survey carried out by Statistics Austria with reference date 1st of December 2007, a total of 187 034 agricultural and forestry holdings were under management in Austria. Compared to the last farm structure survey in 2005, the number of holdings decreased by 1.3%. Since the EU accession of Austria in the year 1995 the number of farms has declined by 21.8%. In the same period there was a trend towards larger holdings. In the year of the EU accession a holding managed a total area of 31.8 ha on average; since then the average had risen to 40.0 ha in 2005 and 40.5 ha in 2007.
The agricultural and forestry holdings were run according to different legal forms. As before, sole proprietorships predominated at 93.5%, with 70 097 or 40.1% managed as full-time holdings and 104 814 (59.9%) as part-time holdings. 2.6% of the total number of holdings were run as association holdings and 3.8% were owned by legal entities.
The 174 911 family holdings cultivated a total of 58.8% of all cultivated area, with a full-time holding accounting for an average 40.0 ha and a part-time holding for 15.7 ha. The 4 938 association holdings accounted for a total of 4.9% of the managed land. Each association holding therefore owned around 74.5 ha. 7 186 holdings owned by legal entities with an average farm area of 381.9 ha held 36.3% of the cultivated area.
The number of full-time holdings declined by 4 407 holdings
The structure of Austria’s agriculture and forestry remains small-scale. There is, however, a continued trend towards larger holdings. The majority of holdings, namely 114 947 or 61.5%, managed less than 20 ha of cultivated area; in 1995 the share was still 68.5% (163 785 holdings). In 7 452 holdings (4.0%), the cultivated area amounted to more than 100 ha, compared with only 6 520 holdings (2.7%) in 1995.
| Agricultural and forestry holdings and their total area 1990, 1995, 1999, 2005 und 2007 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farm Structure Survey 2007: Holdings and total area in comparison to 2003 and 2005 by Länder |  | |  |
| Agricultural and forestry holdings in Austria 1951 to 2007 | | | |
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