Since 2020, there have been around 7,800 fewer farms in Germany – a decline of three percent. The number of employees also continued to decline, while organic farming is making progress.
The number of agricultural businesses in Germany has shrunk by around 7,800 since 2020. In 2023 there were still 255,000 businesses, three percent fewer than three years earlier. This was announced by the Federal Statistical Office. This continued the structural change in agriculture towards fewer but larger farms.
Organic farming is growing
The companies cultivated around 16.6 million hectares last year. It has therefore remained almost unchanged since 2010. On the other hand, the companies have become larger. The average area per farm increased from 63 hectares in 2020 to 65 hectares in 2023. In 2010, the average was only 56 hectares per farm.
Organic farming bucked the trend. The number of organic businesses grew to around 28,700, around ten percent more than three years previously. Organic farms therefore accounted for around eleven percent of all agricultural companies. The area cultivated organically also increased by 16 percent to around 1.85 million hectares within three years.
Number of employees is decreasing
Meanwhile, fewer and fewer people are employed in agriculture. The number of workers fell by seven percent from 2020 to 2023 to a total of 876,000. This included 242,800 seasonal workers. On average, a company employed 3.4 workers.
The number of businesses that keep animals also fell by 7,100 to 161,700 within three years. As of March 1, 2023, there were around 10.9 million cattle, 22.4 million pigs, 1.8 million sheep, 162,600 goats and 167.3 million chickens, turkeys or other poultry in the stables or pastures of these companies.