The ongoing revision of the Common Agricultural
Policy brings into focus the size of farms in the
European Union. To measure the size of farms,
different variables can be taken into account such as
the economic performance, the labour force working
on the farm, the production or the area.
In this publication the Utilised Agricultural Area
(UAA) is chosen for classifying farms by size in each
country (see methodological notes for more
information). This classification provides the basis
for a comparative study on the significance of the
larger farms in the EU 27, Norway and Switzerland,
using the 2007 data from the Farm Structure Survey
(FSS).
The UAA refers to the land used for farming; it
includes arable land, permanent grassland,
permanent crops and also kitchen gardens.
The distribution of the UAA between large and small
farms varies between countries, but in general a
relatively small number of farms occupy a high
percentage of the agricultural area.