Large holdings make up only 5.2 % of all farms, but they manage 61 % of the UAA. Compared to 2020, when Agricultural Census was conducted, both the number of large holdings and UAA have increased. The number of holdings has risen by 0.7 thousand or 30 % while managed agricultural area by 195.2 thousand hectares or 19.5 %.
The number of medium-sized agricultural holdings with a standard output of 15–100 thousand euros per year reached 8.3 thousand, making up 14.4 % of all farms. These farms manage 457.1 thousand hectares or 23.2 % of the total UAA. Over the past three years, the number of medium-sized holdings has increased by 0.4 thousand or 4.7% while the agricultural area they manage has decreased by 60.6 thousand hectares or 11.7 %.
However, 46.2 thousand small farms with a standard output of under 15 thousand euros per year managed 313.1 thousand hectares of agricultural area in 2023. Since 2020 the number of holdings in this economic size group has declined by 12.6 thousand or 21.5% and the agricultural area they manage has dropped by 134.6 thousand hectares or 30.1 %.
In 2023, large agricultural holdings managed 1.05 million hectares or 77.2 % of arable land, of which 1.01 million hectares of sown area under agricultural crops. Compared to 2020, arable land in large holdings increased by 146.2 thousand hectares or 16.2 % and the total sown area by 139.4 thousand hectares or 16 %.
The average size of a farm has grown over the last three years. The average area of an economically active farm was 48 hectares (7 hectares more than in 2020) and the average UAA was 34.3 hectares (5.8 hectares more). The average arable land and sown area per farm have increased as well – by 4.4 hectares or 16.7 % and 4.2 hectares or 16.4 %, respectively. The average number of livestock per one holding has grown from 6.9 livestock units in 2020 to 7.7 livestock units in 2023.
In 2023, 16.6 thousand economically active farms (28.9 %) were engaged in livestock farming. Compared to 2020, the number of such holdings has dropped by 9.3 thousand or 35.9 %. Herd structure is dominated by cattle, which make up 65.4 % of all livestock units (rise of 0.8 percentage points over the past three years). The share of poultry has also increased (by 1.3 percentage points) while the share of pigs, sheep, and goats has reduced.
