
Kerstin Martens
Institute of Farm Economics
Bundesallee 63
38116 Braunschweig
Phone: +49 531 596 5102
Fax: +49 531 596 5199
bw@thuenen.de
The description and analysis of agricultural incomes are of great importance since they form the basis for political interventions at national and European level
Incomes are not only determined by price developments on agricultural markets, but depend also on the conditions of the legal, technical and political framework. Based on comprehensive evaluations of agricultural statistics and using own survey data we analyse the economic situation of farms in Germany and the European Union. For this we identify among others how profitable the production factors (e. g. land, labour and capital) are allocated and how changes in factor and output prices influence the financial stability. Furthermore, we investigate production and investment decisions and associated income effects as well as adjustments in the use of production factors. In this context, we examine farm strategies such as cooperation, diversification and specialization as well as the success factors for farm developments. Focuses of our research are currently the analysis of income developments and distributions in different farm types and regions as well as the assessment and evaluation of the impact of agricultural policy measures. An important database for our studies is the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). In close cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the European Commission we work to further develop this network.