German organic cultivation higher turnover despite lower harvest

Despite the lower harvest in 2010 the German organic cultivators generated 19 percent more turnover. Whilst the grain harvest and the harvest of various vegetables, potatoes and seed fruits was less than a year before, the turnover increased by around 19 percent to 1.3 billion Euro. This meant the organic cultivation made up 3.5 percent of the total turnover in German agriculture.

This was all announced by the ministry of agriculture in Berlin on Monday, before the BioFach in Neurenberg.

The most important reason for the increase in turnover are the higher prices for many organic items. The offer of animal products, such as meat, milk, and eggs has also been extended further.

According to the ministry the year turnover per organic farm is around 59,000 Euro. This is around half of the average for a conventional farm (124,000 Euro).

The yield per hectare is also a lot lower than that of conventional colleagues (1,300 Euro to 2,200 Euro). The reason for this is the significantly larger share of grassland with extensive agriculture compared to the organic companies. Without this the production would be at a comparable level.