Czech Republic
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by
Josef Královec
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Czech Republic
by Josef Královec |
Appendix - species of registered grasses and legumes |
| 1.
INTRODUCTION
The Czech Republic, Czechia, lies in the very heart of Europe at the watershed of three seas, which has predestined it to take the role of a bridge between East und West. Its neighbours include not only the developed western countries, Germany to the west and Austria to the south, but also countries in process of transformation, i. e. Poland to the north and Slovakia to the east (see Figure 1). The Czech Republic is the western part of former Czechoslovakia and consists of three historical countries: they are Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the east and Silesia in the northeast. The area of the Czech Republic is 78 866 km2 (21st place in Europe) and it has a population of more than 10 million (12th place in Europe). According to the World Factbook the population in July 2006 was 10,235,455 with a growth rate of -0.06%.
Figure 1. Map of the Czech Republic A third of the Czech territory (33 percent is occupied by forests and more than a half (54 percent) is agricultural. Table 1 gives an overview of changes in land use before and after the Velvet Revolution (November 1989). The year 1989 was the last year under socialistic conditions and the year 1993 saw the splitting of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The development has been characterized by a slight decline in arable land area and by a growing share of permanent grassland. It is a consequence of the state subsidy policy, which should influence the restructuring of Czech agriculture.
Source: Statistical Yearbooks of the Czech Republic The total extent of fallow land is not followed statistically, but it is estimated (by the Ministry of Agriculture and by the Ministry of Environment) that in 1999 it was around 300,000 hectares, mostly on less fertile soils situated in hill and foothill areas where the soils are mostly stony and shallow or wet. The share of such land is so far steady but growing and this trend will obviously continue due to the declining opportunity of putting agricultural products on the market and due to lack of money for countryside maintenance. The percentage of ploughed land has fallen to 72.2 percent, but this figure is nonetheless among the highest in Europe. There has been a big decline in livestock numbers since 1989. During the last ten years the number of cattle fell by more than a half to 41 percent and for sheep it was even more - to 27 percent of the 1989 level. The stocking rate on 100 ha of agricultural land in livestock units fell by almost a half to 52.4 in 2000 (Table 2).
Source: Statistical Yearbooks of the Czech Republic and FAOSTAT, 2006 In the late 1980s Czechoslovak agriculture was characterized by maximum concentration on production, by the attempt to use all agricultural land for intensive production and by relatively large state subsidies. Large-scale agriculture produced significant surpluses in practically all basic commodities (which were exported mostly to COMECON countries). After the Velvet Revolution (1989) and the introduction of democratic conditions, Czech agriculture, like the whole national economy, found itself at a cross-roads. It was absolutely clear that massive redistribution, central planning and ownership along the lines of "everyone owns everything and nobody owns anything" had to be abandoned. Social demand required the acceleration of economic reforms aiming at a market economy, and the architects of economic reform decided on shock therapy, consisting of: * radical liberalization of prices, * the greatest possible liberalisation of foreign trade, * rapid privatization, and * changes in the taxation system. The transformational changes have had a major effect on both the farm structure and the structure and dimensions of agricultural production. A part of the reform process was the restoration of the right to own land and other agricultural property, carried out under the Land Act of 1991 (the so called Restitution Act). On the basis of the law on property relationships and property claims within cooperatives, passed in 1992 (the so called Transformation Act), agricultural cooperatives were transformed into private business. Other companies, and in part also agricultural cooperatives, were formed in the course of 1993 and 1994 within the privatization of state farms. Also the number of private farmers and their share of agricultural land increased during the whole period of transformation and privatization of Czech agriculture. The current farm structure is completely different from the pre-transformation one (Table 3).
Another result of the transformation process has been the reduction of the average size of farms from almost 1000 ha to 130 ha. While this means that agriculture has lost the comparative advantage of large-scale integral organization, this development on the other hand confirms the onset of new trends toward the development of multi-functional farming. Small and middle-size farms have become an irreplaceable element of the Czech countryside and tourists are finding the countryside more diverse and more attractive. The number of workers in agriculture is about 40 percent of the pre-transformation status. Today there is only 1 worker per 5 hectares of agricultural land. On the other hand the productivity in agriculture has risen significantly. As expressed in constant 1989 prices, the gross agricultural production per worker (work productivity) has risen by about 84 % (Table 4). Real wages, however, are still far below the 1989 level.
Source: Situation and Prospective Report: Soil. Ministry of Agriculture Prague, August 1996 and Statistical Yearbooks of the Czech Republic The transformation of Czech agriculture is still unfinished. The changeover from large-scale production oriented towards other economies, to an agriculture fulfilling mainly extra-production functions and securing the development of the countryside will continue for many years to come. There are unlikely to be further very major changes in the structure of production in arable areas, but in mountainous and foothill regions it is absolutely necessary to create conditions for the development of extensive forms of farming, ecological farms and the ever more popular agro-tourism. Assistance is provided to agriculture in a number of different ways. First, there are Ministry of Agriculture direct support programmes. Second, government regulation ensures that farmers are given financial incentives to maintain the countryside to a cultured standard and to develop functions of agriculture outside production. This latter type of subsidy is taking up an ever larger share of aid to agriculture and fully corresponds to the world-wide trend of encouragement for multifunctional agriculture. |
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| 4. RUMINANT LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
4.1 Dairy and beef Changes in both state subsidy policy and consumer demand have together led to a major fall in the production of milk and beef. On the basis of the long-term programme of development and support of cattle rearing, the restructuring of the herd continued. Dairy breeds prevailed (87 percent). The most widespread race remains the Czech Spotted Cattle (52 percent) which are kept for combined milk and meat. The second most important race is Holstein with its distinct dairy use (40 percent). Other breeds make up the remaining 8 percent. Most of the cattle population in Czechia in 2000 was dairy breeds kept under large-scale conditions of the agricultural cooperatives and trading companies. The supply and accessibility of modern technologies improved the conditions for introducing free housing systems for dairy cows. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture the share of this housing reached about 60 percent in 2000. In the last ten years, herds of dairy cows have been reduced by more than 50 percent. Despite direct subsidies and in spite of the moderate improvement of the producer's position in the market, the decline of dairy cow numbers continued in 2000 under the influence of the continuing unprofitability of milk production. On the other hand there is a basic improvement in yield, which today is around an average of more than 5,000 kg of milk per cow per year and is therefore already comparable with that of some EU states. The increase in yield is the result of the effect of targeted subsidies for dairy farming and the continual improvement in the genetic work of breeders. Unfortunately it has not yet proved possible to increase the consumption of milk and dairy products significantly, so it is necessary to export some of the production. The share of exported milk products in 2000 was almost 24 percent.
Source: Situation and Prospective Report: Milk. Ministry of Agriculture,
Prague, The restructuring of beef farming in the direction of a higher proportion of beef breeds is underway with a significant impetus provided by subsidy policy. Currently there are 70,000 cows in the Czech Republic not involved in market milk production and it is anticipated that this number will continue to rise. There are 12 specialized breeds kept for production of quality beef. The most important among them are Simmental, Charolais and Aberdeen Angus, followed by Hereford, Limousin, Piemont, Salers, Aquitaine, Galloway and Highland. The number of beef cattle continues to grow, especially in less favourable areas. Conformable with the long-term perspective in cattle rearing development, grazing was supported as well as the number of cows without market milk production with the target to increase the beef production. Thus the production of quality beef and the maintenance of the countryside are solved at the same time. Simultaneously the production of organic meat increased to restore the consumers' confidence. Beef cattle are kept at pasture during the growing season, some of them throughout the year, mainly by private farmers. Beef cattle and the cows without market milk production form 13 percent of the whole cattle population. There are more than 80,000 cows without market milk production and beef cows. Pure-bred beef cattle number more than 15,000 (19 percent of the whole population). The average daily gain was 0.76 kg by calves, 0.65 kg by heifers and 0.88 kg by fattened bulls.
Source: Situation and Prospective Report: Beef and Pork. Ministry of Agriculture, Prague, August 2001. Home grown beef on the Czech market decreased gradually owing to falling cattle numbers during past years so that it was necessary to import. Nevertheless beef consumption is decreasing all the time and in 2000 it fell below 13 kg per person per year. The reason also lies in changes in consumer demands: some consumers have replaced beef in their diets with the cheaper pork while others have moved from red to white meats. A similar declining trend in beef consumption can be observed abroad, too. Today the market for beef seems to be almost in equilibrium. The introduction of obligatory classification of abattoir-processed carcasses using SEUROP norms since 2001 will provide a further motivation for the expansion of the breeding of beef cattle. This measure should lead to a desirable price differentiation of beef according to quality. 4. 2 Sheep and goats The sheep (and in much smaller numbers also goats) have their uses in Czechia, namely for maintaining the amenity value of the countryside. The main product - lamb - which is one of a few commodities exported to the EU - countries, is also very important.
Source: Situation and Prospective Report - Sheep and Goats. Ministry of Agriculture, Prague, December 2000 and FAOSTAT 2006 Sheep rearing is going through big changes both in structure and economics. All these changes have negatively influenced results. The sharp fall of wool prices in 1991 caused a big decrease in sheep numbers (the share of sheep for wool production was almost 63 percent). Since 1995 the main product is lamb. Dual purpose breeds are preferred now: in 2000, 67 percent dual purpose were kept and 30 percent for lamb. Sheep are kept first of all for quality lamb and for grazing grassland mainly in fodder production areas. Almost 80 percent of sheep rearers have small herds up to 10 head, mostly for domestic use and only about 30 percent goes through slaughter to the market. Sheep numbers are still decreasing, so the goal of subsidiary programmes is to boost the number of sheep, firstly by merging and extending flocks with a bigger number of sheep, secondly by lamb production for the local and foreign demand. A part of the systematic approach is the optimizing of pastures and the management of grazing areas to increase herbage production and to maintain the amenity value of the countryside. In 1998, the government programme (focused on sheep breeding in uplands) began, but its effects are not yet evident. The end of reduction of flocks can be expected in the coming years and since 2000 numbers have slowly begun to increase again. Goat numbers fell in the five years from 1995 to 2000 by about 30 percent and then halved again from 2000 to 2004. No increase is expected and the only change will consist of preferences for large flocks instead of individual stock raising and in the expansion of the meat breed, especially the one appropriate for joint grazing with cattle and sheep. 4.3. Animal Health According to data provided by the State Veterinary Administration of the Czech Republic, which is responsible for animal health and welfare, the health status is quite satisfactory. The Czech Republic is officially free of bovine brucellosis (since 1964), bovine tuberculosis (since 1967) and enzootic bovine leukosis (since 1996). The last occurrence of foot and mouth disease was in 1975. On the other hand, two cases of BSE were found in 2001. All slaughtered beef is examined for this disease. |
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| 5.
THE PASTURE RESOURCE
It is difficult to give an overview on grassland in the Czech Republic because of the lack of information and the dearth of statistics. Rychnovská et al. (1985) define meadows and pastures phytocenologically as plant associations and divide them according to moisture conditions into five grassland types. However, they differ very much in their productivity and fodder quality. Three of these types can be characterized by extreme conditions (stands on very wet or swampy or inundated localities with predominance of Carex spp., then dry places belonging to Nardus stricta communities, and xerophytic stands of Bromus type). These are without any economical importance and can be evaluated only from the point of view of their ecological - non-productive - functions. It is estimated they make up approximately 30 % of all grassland. Grassland belonging to the phytocenological order of Molinio-Arrhenatheretea is most often used. It can be divided into two parts: Molinietalia and Arrhenatheretea. The productivity of Molinietalia depends on the local moisture conditions and management (both influencing the botanical composition). On light soils the stands are created mainly by Alopecurus pratensis, Festuca pratensis and Holcus lanatus and on heavier soils Deschampsia caespitosa prevails. The meadows and pastures of Arrhenatheretea could be divided into regularly double-cut meadows with a big share of cultural grass and clover species like Arrhenatherum elatius, Festuca pratensis, Festuca rubra, Dactylis glomerata and Alopecurus pratensis or productive pastures with Lolium perenne, Cynosurus cristatus, Poa pratensis, Phleum pratense, Trifolium repens and on less fertile soils with Agrostis tenuis, Festuca rubra, Anthoxanthun odoratum or Briza media. Animal production in lowlands - where most cattle are kept in stables under large scale conditions - is based on fodder from arable land. Grassland offers only a small amount of hay in these areas because of their small acreage. They are situated mostly around rivers and brooks and are not suitable for mechanized harvesting. That is why almost a quarter of arable land is under fodder crops (in 1989 it was a third). In the growing period feeding consists of fresh fodder, while in winter it is based on silage or haylage (mainly) from maize. There is more grassland at higher altitudes. The meadows there serve for hay but the production is very often not exploited at all because there is no need of fodder. Very important is however maintaining of the countryside and that is why grazing beef cattle (and sheep) in these areas is supported by state subsidies. Under local conditions continuous grazing prevails, which is a cheap way of grassland management. Despite the subsidies, the productivity of grassland is falling from year to year as a result of lack of fertilizers. Farmers use less fertilizers overall and almost none on grassland because of their high prices. This is shown by the decreasing yields of fodder even from arable land. Fertilizer consumption dropped from 217.8 kg pure nutrients per hectare in 1989/90 to 88.4 kg in 1999/2000 and it is clear that almost all of it is used on cereals (and oil seeds) which bring immediate profit to the farmers. Another consequence is the fall in soil nutrient supply which is evident from the results of regular soil checking provided by the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture (ÚKZÚZ).
Source: Statistical Yearbooks of the Czech Republic |
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| 6. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF FODDER
RESOURCES
Under existing conditions there is no need to improve pasture resources. In the near future, there is no chance for better utilization of grassland, either, mainly in marginal and hilly areas. In the struggle to maintain the countryside, state subsidies for grazing and rearing of cattle and sheep are given by Ministry of Agriculture and partly even by the Ministry of Environment. A suitable alternative to the conventional agriculture and a new opportunity for farmers is organic agriculture. Areas which are managed in this way are increasing rapidly: at the end of 2000 some 563 farms were registered with more than 166,000 hectares (3.9 percent of all agricultural land) in this system. In organically managed farms grassland prevails (90 percent) and only 10 percent is arable land. Beef from these farms ("bio-beef") is sold nowadays even in supermarkets. Provided the conditions in Czech agriculture improve, the farmers have enough knowledge and material possibilities to improve their pasture resources. An example of this is seed. According to the Act No 92/1996 Coll., on plant varieties, seed and planting material of cultivated plants, the State Variety Book of the Czech Republic is issued. It is the National List of all plant cultivars registered by reaching the requirements from the above quoted Act. There are 98 cultivars of 19 grass species and 66 cultivars of legume species listed in this book to the date of July 1st, 2001. This book is regularly published by the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture (ÚKZÚZ). The overview of the grass and legume species and their cultivars in Czechia can be found in Appendix 1. only grass species intended for fodder are given there, none for lawns. |
7. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS
AND PERSONNEL
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| 8.
REFERENCES Agriculture and agricultural cooperatives in the Czech Republic. Published by the Association of Agricultural Cooperatives and Companies of the Czech Republic, 1997 (in Czech). Green Reports of Czech Agriculture (in Czech). Landwirtschaft in mittel- und osteuropäischen Ländern. Potenziale und deren Ausnutzung. Proceedings from the 113th Congress of VDLUFA, Berlin 2001 (in German). Rychnovska, M. et al., 1985. Ekologie travních porostu (Ecology of Grassland). Academia Praha (in Czech). Situation and Prospective Reports issued by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Prague (in Czech). State Veterinary Administration of the Czech Republic, leaflet (in Czech). Statistical Yearbooks of the Czech Republic (in Czech and English). |
| 9.
CONTACTS This profile was prepared by Josef Královec in November 2001. He is a grassland expert of the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture BRNO Agrochemistry, Soil and Plant Nutrition Department PLZEN and can be contacted at: (Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture BRNO Agrochemistry, Soil and Plant Nutrition Department PLZEN) Grassland Research Station Závišín P.O.Box 141 CZ 353 21 MARIÁNSKÉ LÁZNE 1 Czech Republic. Tel.: +420.602.949371 e-mail: josef.kralovec@iol.cz [The profile was lightly edited by J.M. Suttie and S.G. Reynolds in December 2001 and livestock figures were modified by S.G. Reynolds in November 2002 and October 2006.] |
Appendix
1
Source: National List of Varieties inscripted in the State Variety Book of the Czech Republic by July 1st, 2001. ÚKZÚZ Brno (Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture), 2001
Source: National List of Varieties inscripted in the State Variety Book of the Czech Republic by July 1st, 2001. ÚKZÚZ Brno (Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture), 2001 |
