Organic farming Intensity of land use

By the end of 2023, the proportion of agricultural land in Germany under organic farming had reached 11.5%, with 14% of all German farms engaging in organic farming practices. The spatial distribution of organic farming exhibits significant variation across the federal states examined. The proportion of land under organic farming has been shown to correlate negatively with the intensity of agricultural land use in a region. Consequently, in northwestern Germany, the proportion of land remains comparatively low. Conversely, high proportions of land are prevalent in low mountain ranges and, in particular, in the vicinity of large protected areas in Brandenburg, including the Spreewald and Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserves and the Lower Oder Valley National Park. In these regions, the national target of achieving a minimum of 30% organic farming is attained at the regional level. This phenomenon is also evident in the Alpine foothills, albeit with a notable intensity of dairy farming at the regional level.

Arable land on organic farms is typically cultivated with a marginally elevated level of crop diversity in comparison with that employed in conventional farming.

Since 2010, both the proportion of organic farms and the area of land they manage steadily increase in Germany, accelerating since 2015in all the federal states examined. The rate of increase is lowest in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, compared to Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Brandenburg.The proportion of permanent grassland cultivated by organic farms is increasing, both in low mountain ranges and on the plains. The share within arable land is also rising steadily, albeit at a lower rate.

The future development of organic farming will be influenced primarily by continued financial CAP support and the development of sales markets. Organic farming is a key indicator of the national biodiversity strategy. 
 

The calculations of the indicator and trends are based on the available evaluable IACS data. 

For further information on the calculation, see the indicator sheet