Sheep farmers make an important contribution to the preservation and maintenance of landscapes and at the same time produce valuable food and wool. But what is the current state of sheep farming? What types of sheep farms are there in Germany? What are the perspectives and challenges? These questions will be addressed in the project.

Agriculture is just for men? Not at all! In order to shed light on the living and working situation of women on farms and to clarify their contribution to agriculture and rural areas, the Thuenen-Institute for Farm Economics and the University of Göttingen are jointly conducting a Germany-wide study with interviews and an online survey.

The next reform is just around the corner - that much is clear to anybody following agricultural policy in Germany and the EU. While some may groan in exasperation, these continuous adjustments reflect the extremely dynamic change of framework conditions and societal expectations that the agricultural sector is faced with.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU has a significant influence on farm incomes. But does the CAP reduce income gaps in the agricultural sector? What (unintended) distributional effects would further liberalisation of the European agricultural sector entail?

Both climate change and increasing liberalisation of EU agricultural policy involve the danger of increasing volatility and economic risk at the farm level.

EU agricultural policies as well as international trade policies have changed considerably during the last decades. This has led to an increased demand from policy makers and scientists for model-based quantitative assessments of the consequences of respective policy reforms.

The Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) is a harmonised data base throughout the EU that consists of accounting data from a representative sample of agricultural holdings. Based on this income, structural and production developments can be analysed. The EU Commission uses the FADN extensively to evaluate the impacts of the CAP and to design new policy measures.

The organic area shall further grow in view the German government. This requires that the organic management is profitable. Book-keeping records of the Farm Accountancy Network provide relevant information, if this was the case in the last years.

In national accounting statistics in Germany horticulture is limited to primary production and a few selected horticultural services. Contrary, all actors of the value chain are involved in producing horticultural products. For this reason official statistics do not reflect the economic performance of the horticultural sector completely.

Only those who know the costs can make the right decisions. This phrase holds true for farmers and policy makers alike. However: how to accurately determine costs?