Glossary category : Farms typology

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3 - Farms

3.1 - Farms typology

   

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  • Extensification

    The process of decreasing the use of capital and inputs (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, energy) relative to land area. Due to a decrease in inputs per land area the pressure on the environment may be decreased. A decrease in pesticides used, for instance, is likely to decrease the risk of pesticide run-off in surface and groundwater (‘loss per unit area’). However, the actual effect of a decrease in the use of inputs on the environment does not only depend on the amount of inputs used but also on how they are applied and the extent to which decreased inputs lead to lower production (‘loss per unit produce’). Therefore, extensification does not necessarily lead to an environmentally more benign situation.

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  • Farm Intensity

    Name
    Low intensity output < 500 euros/ha
    Medium intensity output => 500 and < 3000 euros/ha
    High intensity => 3000 euros/ha

    (source: www.seamlessassociation.org)

  • Farm size

    Name
    Small scale < 16 ESU*
    Medium scale => 16 and < 40 ESU
    Large scale => 40 ESU

    (source: www.seamlessassociation.org)

    *ESU: European Size Unit = 1200 euros standard gross margin (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Standard_gross_margin_(SGM) )

  • Farm type (FT)

    The flag characterizing which activity generates the income for a farm and which crops are predominantly grown/animals are kept for that (in the case of Catch-C leaving out features such as intensity and size); consult Table 1.

    Table 1. Farm type assignment based on main source of income (Catch-C, Hijbeek et al., 2013)

    Specialisation EU-code Definition
    Arable systems (specialised
    field crops and mixed
    cropping)    		 1+6 – >1/3 of standard gross margin from general
    cropping (arable farming)
    – Or > 1/3 but < 2/3 of standard gross margin
    from horticulture
    – Or > 1/3 but < 2/3 of standard gross margin
    from permanent crops
    Combined with < 1/3 of standard gross margin
    from meadows and
    Permanent crops 3 > 2/3 of standard gross margin from permanent
    crops
    Horticulture 2 > 2/3 of standard gross margin from
    horticultural crops
    Dairy cattle 4.1 > 2/3 of standard gross margin from dairy
    cattle
    Beef and mixed cattle 4.2+4.3 > 2/3 of standard gross margin from cattle and
    < 2/3 from dairy cattle
    Sheep, goats and mixed
    grazing livestock    		 4.4 > 2/3 of standard gross margin from grazing
    livestock and < 2/3 from cattle
    Pigs 5.1 >2/3 of standard gross margin from pigs
    Poultry and mixed pigs/poultry 5.2 > 2/3 of standard gross margin from pigs and
    poultry and < 2/3 from pigs
    Mixed livestock 7 > 1/3 and < 2/3 of standard gross margin from
    pigs and poultry and/or
    >1/3 and < 2/3 from cattle
    Mixed farm 8 All other farms

     

    Farm type assignment based on dominant crop or animal type (Catch-C, Hijbeek et al., 2013)

    Code Crop/Animal Criterion
    1 Land independent UAA* = 0 or LU**/ha> 5
    2 Horticulture Not 1 and > 50% of UAA in horticultural crops
    3 Permanent crops, excl. grassland Not 1 and 2 and > 50% of UAA in permanent crops
    4 Temporary grassland Not 1,2 or 3 and > 50% of UAA in grassland and > 50% of
    grassland in temporary grass
    5 Permanent grassland Not 1,2,3 and > 50% of UAA in grassland and < 50% of
    grassland in temporary grass
    6 Fallow land Not 1,2,3,4 or 5 and > 50% of UAA in fallow
    7 Cereals Not 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 and > 50% of UAA in cereals
    8 Specialised crops Not 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and > 25% in specialised crops***
    9 Mixed crops (others) Not 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 or 8

    *see UAA; **see LU; ***grain maize, potatoes, sugar beet, hops, soya, tobacco, medicinal plants, sugar cane, cotton, fibre flax, hemp, mushrooms, vegetables in open, flowers in open, grass seeds, other seeds.

  • Farm Type Zone (FTZ)

    A spatially homogeneous area with distinctive characteristics in terms of the present climate, soil texture, slope and farm type, thus combining AEZs and FTs.

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  • Intensification

    The process of increasing the use of inputs (labour, information, energy, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery) relative to land area, to increase agricultural production per unit area. Intensification may increase the pressure on the environment, if it is comprised of an indiscriminate increase of the use of inputs without an associated increase in managerial input. A higher use of fertilizers and pesticides, for instance, may increase the risk of nutrient and pesticide run-off into surface and groundwater (‘loss per unit area’). However, the actual effect of the use of inputs on the environment does not only depend on the amount of inputs used but also on how they are applied and the extent to which they contribute to production increases (‘loss per unit produce’). Therefore, intensification does not necessarily need to lead to environmental degradation.

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  • Organic farming

    Agricultural production which typically places a higher emphasis on environmental and wildlife protection and, with regard to livestock production, on measures that are supposedly animal welfare friendly. Organic production aims at more holistic production management systems for crops and livestock, emphasizing on-farm management practices over off-farm inputs. This involves avoiding, or largely reducing, the use of synthetic chemicals such as inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, medicinal products, replacing them, wherever possible, with cultural, biological and mechanical methods. Organic producers explicitly aim to develop an allegedly healthier, fertile soil by growing and rotating a mixture of crops and using leguminous crops to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. The production of genetically-modified (GM) crops and their use in animal feed is banned. In the context of European Union (EU) statistics, farming is considered to be organic if it complies with Regulation 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products. The detailed rules for the implementation of this Regulation are laid down in Regulation 889/2008.

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