According to an annual overview from the DBV, the number of personnel decreases by about one percent each year, as does the number of agricultural businesses. As a result, these numbers have declined by more than thirteen percent since 2010.
Consequently, the average number of 3.6 employees per farm has remained virtually stable. However, the number of employees per 100 hectares of farmland has fallen over the past ten years from 6.6 workers to 5.6. The main causes are farm consolidation and further technological progress. The reduction of livestock farming in Germany also plays a role.
There are significant differences among the various German federal states. The range lies between a workforce of 1.2 per 100 hectares in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt and 4.7 in the particularly crop-intensive Rhineland-Palatinate.
In German agriculture, most work on family farms is done by the farmer and his family members. In 2020, this was 46% (434,400 of the 937,900). There are also 228,900 permanent employees and approximately another 274,700 seasonal workers. Over the past ten years, there has been a shift from family personnel to hired external staff.
Nearly one-third (29%) of the personnel in German agriculture consists of foreign seasonal workers. These are employees who are employed for less than six months. They are primarily engaged as harvest helpers. Their share varies between 11% in Saarland and 50% in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The number of seasonal workers from Poland has decreased in recent years, while the number of employees from Romania has increased significantly.
About 70% come from Romania, 25% from Poland, and the rest from other Eastern European countries (mainly Bulgaria, the Baltic states, and Ukraine).