Germany

Agricultural trends

In 2003, 17 million hectares of land, 53.5% of the total, was used for agriculture in Germany of which 11.8 million hectares were used to produce arable crops and 5.2 million hectares as permanent grassland or for permanent crops.

German farmers are, alongside the French, the biggest agricultural producers in the European Union (EU15) — in recent years producing up to 24% of the community’s milk. In 2003, 55% of farms were ‘part-time’, responsible for farming 26% of land used for agriculture.

In recent decades economic pressure has had an increasing impact on farmers and experts predict that the structural change will lead to bigger farm sizes and stronger specialisation.

There is a clear trend towards larger farms and higher milk yields and overall decrease in number of dairy cows.

Farms, cattle and milk yields trends
1995 2003
Number of farms 485 800 388 800
Number of cattle 15 800 000 13 700 000
Number of dairy cows 5 277 300 4412 800
Dairy cows per dairy farm 28 34
Milk yield per cow and year, kg 5 424 6 300 (2002)
Average farm size, hectares 29.3 40.5

Sources: Statistisches Bundesamt, 2004: Landwirtschaft in Deutschland 2003;
Milch & Markt Informationsbüro der deutschen Milchindustrie, 2004

The percentage of organic farming increased from 1.58% in 1994 to 4.3% in 2003 which is slightly above the EU average of 3.2 %. In 2003, organic farms, with an average of 53 hectares, were generally bigger than conventional farms.

Silage production trends

Two methods of silage storage are commonly used in Germany: clamp and bale, with sausage bales emerging as a third option. The overall silage production in Germany has decreased during the last decade due to a decrease in the number of animals. The percentage of bale silage has increased over recent years and today represents 20% – 25% of Germany’s overall silage production.

Maize silage is mainly produced using clamps. Horse breeders on the other hand are increasingly using bale silage to replace hay, with current ratio estimated to be 50:50.

Grass silage, maize silage and, more rarely, a mixture of grass and legume silage are the main components of basic fodder for dairy cows and cattle. Between 1984 and 2000 the relative proportions of crops ensiled changed, with total fodder production decreasing due the decrease in the number of animals.


Estimated Production of Silage
Crop Total Area Harvested (thousand hectares) % change
1984
1989
1994
2000
 1994-2000
Hay
1 700
1 000
600
500
- 16%
Silage
     - Grass inc. Legumes 2 300 2 300 1 700 1 650 -3%
     - Maize 1 200 1 290 1 250 1 150 -8%
     - Whole-crop cereals 40
 70 100 100 0
     - Beet tops 460 310 80
 60 -33%
     - Other crops 950 570 270 100 -62%

Source: World Silage Report – Wilkinson and Toivonen, May 2003

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