Organic farming no longer serves a niche market in the European Union (EU). In spite of the global economic crisis, the mainstreaming of organic products has maintained its impressive trajectory: since 2008 there has been an average annual growth rate of 8%; annual turnover has risen to €20 billion; and more than 500...

In the world, more than 80 per cent of farms are family farms – in total more than 500 million economic and social entities. In Europe 25 million people, 172 million hectares of agricultural land and 12 million farms are involved in EU agricultural production. A vast majority of these...

In Austria, grassland accounts for more than 50 percent of agricultural land and is mainly located in mountainous regions. Consequently, 70 percent of all Austrian dairy farms, producing two thirds of all milk, are located in these areas. In the Alpine regions, organic farming has traditionally been very important and...

The project is an initiative of 21 regional restaurants and inns, which have developed their own common brand and are offering the traditional cuisine of the region, based on quality products. Cooperation around the ALMO concept has covered the entire production chain for high quality beef. The project was developed...

The concept of “High Nature Value farming” developed in the early 1990s from a growing recognition that the conservation of biodiversity in Europe depends on the continuation of low-intensity farming systems across large areas of countryside (see Beaufoy et al., 1994; Bignal et al., 1994; Bignal & McCracken, 1996; 2000)....

Family farming is the most common operational farming model in Europe – representing 97 % of the European Union’s (EU) 12 million farms. Thus it is of great importance in the EU. It covers a diverse range of situations, including farms of all sizes. While there are obvious differences across...

12 million farms, 172 million hectares of agricultural land, 25 million people involved in agricultural production – these are some of the key data for the EU farming sector in 2010; but what about the situation of individual farms and how do things differ between Member States and as compared...

Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have established in parallel to conventional food chains, playing a key role in the emerging food networks that are continuously arising as an alternative to the globalized agri-food model. The diversities and particularities of the experiences existing all over the world (box schemes, farmers’ markets,...

Domestic and donor-driven development agendas for African agriculture are spurring smallholder family farming as a catalyst for food security and poverty reduction. Family farms are also the backbone of agriculture in the European Union, although the process of concentration has gone further than in Africa. European agricultural policy reforms now...

The concept of family farming is the recipient of much high-level political capital right now...  The United Nations has declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming, the primary aim of which is to promote, develop and strengthen all types of familyoriented agriculture - from horticulture and livestock to fisheries and forestry - as a socially...

All businesses need to innovate if they are to thrive, and family farms are no exception. By thinking ahead and developing new approaches, farmers can increase output, develop new and improved products, diversify and tap into new income streams, and remain environmentally sustainable. Innovative farms are more likely to weather...

In this brochure seven farmers are explaining how they protect our environment with their agriculture and preserve it for future generations. The Austrian farmers have already been working for centuries with the natural bases of life water, soil, air and biodiversity. By means of their near-natural management they have succeeded...

Austrian grassland farming is marked by very differing climatic and topographical conditions and, compared with many European countries, it is also distinctively small in structure. While mountain regions follows traditional methods which are ecologically orientated and sustainably maintain the utilisation of the land. Austria has chosen the path of widespread...

The Austrian National Rural Network service unit “Netzwerk Land” has invited 1.400 stakeholders in rural development to answer three questions about the future orientation of the rural development policy. Additionally, these questions were posed on the front page of the network’s webpage. The RD monitoring committee held further discussions and...

Dairy farms in Austria are rather small - 64 tons of milk quote per farm in 2008 -           Half of the dairy farmers held less than 40 tons of milk quota -          Definitely less milk cows than in many other EU-countries -          Smaller farms show higher production costs „ Conclusion: smaller farms are less...