In Germany agricultural land use is very heterogeneous with respect to management orientation and productivity even at local level. Also the rate of structural change shows a wide variation. While for a limited number of factors (e.g. farm size) a stable relation to structural change could be...

The CAP reform of 2003 will change farmer's business environment in Europe. This paper analyses the impact of the reform on the land use in southern German grassland regions. The assessment will be based on model calculations for two typical grassland regions. Each study area represents one...

Since several decades the RAUMIS modelling system is applied for policy impact assessments to measure the impact of agriculture on the environment. A disaggregation at the municipality level with more than 9.000 administrative units, instead of currently used 316 counties, would tremendously...

This paper presents a regional land-use model that conceives farms as independent agents aiming at maximum individual utility. Farm agents optimize their utility with the help of a linear-programming algorithm that takes into account natural, economic and personal restrictions. Interactions...

Implementation of the Mid Term Review of the Common Agricultural Policy on farming in Europe is expected, and intended, to initiate structural changes in European agriculture. This impact of the agricultural policy reform will be triggered at the farm level with both up- and down-stream effects...

This paper explores the implications of an expansion of the EU milk quota. The paper begins by examining the relative competitiveness of dairy farming in the EU. FADN data is used to derive production cost measures and partial productivity indicators for selected Member States. The results show...

The paper is a case study of how the Luxembourg Agreement of the Mid-Term Review of the Common Agricultural Policy may affect the structure of dairy and beef farming in the Republic of Ireland over the period 2002 to 2012. It describes the process used to assess some structural implications of a...

Sustainability Indicators (economic, environmental and social) are developed here using Irish National Farm Survey (FADN) data over a ten-year period (1996-2006) in an attempt to measure the sustainability of Irish agriculture at the farm-level. The general concept of sustainability is discussed...

Quota trade in Ireland is ‘ring fenced’ to milk processors where farmers are not allowed to trade milk quota outside their designated milk processor. This ensures milk production staying within a region but has implications for the efficiency of milk production. In this paper, we simulated a...

Under the Mac Sharry and Agenda 2000 reforms, direct payments comprised a significant portion of farmers' income in the EU. Farmers had to engage in production to receive these payments but the payments were relatively risk-free and therefore risk may not have played an important role in the...