Over the past ten years, the number of farms in Germany has decreased by 12%, but this decline has slowed in recent years. Pig farms were particularly hard hit. This is evident from preliminary results of the 2020 agricultural census by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
The agricultural area remained largely constant between 2010 and 2020, decreasing by only 1% to 16.6 million hectares. The main land use type also remained almost unchanged: arable land represented 70% of the area, permanent grassland 29%, and permanent crops 1%.
According to Destatis, the number of farms larger than 100 hectares has increased sharply to about 38,100, at the expense of smaller agricultural businesses. This concentration also continued in livestock production. According to the federal office, animals are now kept on 167,900 farms; 9 percentage points fewer than ten years ago.
This development was especially visible in pig farming. The number of farms with pigs decreased by 47% over the past ten years to 32,100, while the pig population in the same period decreased by only 4% to 26.6 million animals.
For cattle, approximately 11.3 million animals were registered. According to the survey, the number of farms with animals has fallen by a quarter since 2010, while the number of animals decreased by only a tenth.
The concentration was particularly strong among German dairy farmers. Their number shrank by 40% to 54,100 farms, while the dairy herd decreased by only 5% to 4.0 million animals. Structural changes in poultry farming were less drastic.
Organic farming has become increasingly important in Germany. In 2020, approximately 26,400 farms operated according to organic standards, according to Destatis; that was 9,900 or 60% more than ten years earlier. As a proportion of agriculture as a whole, the share rose by 4 percentage points to 10% of farms.