Switching to organic farming - Impact of Europe's extensification programme in the new Laender

Starting from the marketing season 1991/92 the EU's extensification programme was extended to East Germany. This option of switching to organic farming has been widely accepted in this part of the country. Focusing on farms who changed their system to organic farming, the study starred with 54 farms in 1993, closed with 44 farms in 1997. The premium paid for alternative farming has been the main reason for around 50% of the farmers changing their farming system. Alternative farming results in typical changes of the crop ratio. A decrease in oil seed production, vanishing of sugar beat planting, an increase of leguminosae use and an increasing importance of fodder cropping can be observed. In contrast to West German farms, potatoes and vegetables do not play an important role in East German alternative production. Regarding animal production dairy farming is dominant in East Germar Partly, suckling cow farming can be found. Crop yields are significantly lower than in traditional farming. In milk production the difference between the systems is smaller. Alternatively produced products, especially plant products, can reach higher market prices than traditionally produced products. However, due to the expansion of alternative farming, prices for alternatively produced products were decreasing in the last years. Product prices of the surveyed farms in East Germany were much lower compared to similar West German farms. Well-managed organic farms achieved incomes as high or even higher than the incomes of comparable traditionally producing farms. This is mainly true fbr farms specialised in plant production, who are mostly able to earn higher incomes even without premiums for extensification. Forage-growing farms as well as organic farms producing in the form of legal persons will probably not be able to survive without premiums for extensification. A major reason for success can be seen in the locational factors. Most important for the economic success which can be influenced by the farm manager are in abilities of the farm manager, good marketing channels and achievable product prices, adequate production technology, high production capacities with regards to Increasing marketing possibilities, low labour costs and the ability to finance the farm from the gains. Farms, far from markets, as well as larger alternatively producing farms - typical for East Germany- should try to sell their products mainly in producer associations, who closely cooperate with processing work plants. Most of the farmers surveyed consider the conducted change to organic production as not satisfying. This and partly unsatisfying economic performance point out that for switches to organic farming more individual extension efforts are needed in the future.