Farm size structure in Denmark Regional pattern and development since the 1960s

Side 44

Reenberg, Anette: Farm-size structure in Denmark. Regional pattern
and development since the 19605. Geografisk Tidsskrift 84:
44-47. Copenhagen, February 1984.

A description is given of the regional farm-size structure in Denmark during the last 25 years. The prevailing pattern and development tendencies are related to the historical background and to the physical conditions for agriculture in different parts of the country.

Keywords: Farm-size, structural change, Denmark, agriculture

Anette Reenberg, cand.scient., Senior Lecturer. Geographical Institute,
University of Copenhagen, Haraldsgade 68, DK-2100 Copenhagen

One of the most obvious features of the last 25 years of agricultural development in Denmark is the increasing size of holdings. Private ownership and the family farm has been the dominating organization for the last 200 years, but the technological progress and many job opportunities outside the agricultural sector (especially in the 19605) have made it both necessary, and possible, to create bigger farms and to decrease the number of hired workers on farms. Although the main tendencies in the structural change are the same all over the country there are some significant regional variations in the holding -size structure and its development.

This paper will start with a brief introduction to the development from the reallotment period about 1800 on to the family-holding with mixed farming which became typical for Danish agriculture in the first half of the 20th century. This is done in order to give the necessary background for understanding today's agricultural structure. The main emphasis, however, will be laid on demonstrating and explaining the regional differences in the size structure and their change since the 19605.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE SETTLEMENT PATTERN

The present rural settlement structure has been created over several hundred years. The change in total number of Danish holdings since c. 1800 is shown in Fig. 1; it can roughly be characterized as a steady increase up till 1925, a stable period of approximately 20 years, and a rapid decrease from 1960. However, it is fruitful further to distinguish between a typical East-Danish and a typical West-Danish settlement structure as well as their historical

Fig. 1. Total number of farms 1688 to 1980 and number of small farms (less than l tønde hartkorn) 1688 to 1960. The breaks are due to change in statistic sources, area expansion (1920), and enumeration practise (1960: change from property unit to functional Fig. 1. Det samlede brugsantal i perioden 1688 til 1980 og antal landbrugshuse (mindre end l tønde hartkorn) fra 1688 til 1960.

The young moraines in the east have been cultivated for centuries, and the settlement patterns therefore mirror three main stages in the development of the agricultural sector: 1) Up till c. 1800 the medium-sized village farms were the dominating element. 2) Following the reallotmentc. 1800 a lot of small houses with a few hectares of land was established on the common grazing areas of the village in order to give the former land-less agricultural workers some land in replacement of their grazing rights. The most distinct feature of these small holdings is their location on marginal agricultural land, or in the periphery of the parish. 3) An additional number of small farms was established at the turn of the 19th century when agriculturalreforms aimed at creating small state-subsidized familyholdings by means of different types of loan arrangements.The result was almost 30,000 new holdings with a locational emphasis on the eastern part of the country,

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Fig. 2. To the left is shown the approximate location of the Main Stationary' Line for the ice masses during the last glaciation. The map to the right indicates the location of the areas used as examples in fig. 3. Fig. 2. Isens hovedstilstandslinjc under sidste nedismngspenode er omtrentligt angivet til venstre, mens kortet til højre viser lokaliseringen af eksemplerne i fig. 3.

because a substantial part of the land to these holdings
originated from big estates, which were a typical element
of the old rural settlement pattern.

The area west of the Main Stationary Line (Fig. 2) has a much shorter agricultural settlement history. The sandy outwash plains and old moraines were less suited for agricultural purposes without manuring and irrigation, and up to this century only the river valleys were used as meadow, and small, adjacent areas cultivated and fertilized by dung, whereas the major parts of western Jutland were heathland. First at the beginning of this century a substantial cultivation was initiated, inspired by an increasing population's demand for land and made possible by technological progress in a broader sense.

To the size structure in the western part of Jutland this historical development implies that the relative amount of small holdings is modest compared to the eastern part of the country - partly because few holdings were established there at the time for the heavy increase in small holdings (late 1800 and early 1900), but also because the inferior quality of land demanded bigger areas to make a vital holding.

DEVELOPMENT TRENDS SINCE 1960

Some typical examples of size-of-holding structures in 1963 are given in Fig. 3, representing »western« as well as »eastern« types with their precise locations indicated in Fig. 2. The year 1963 has been chosen in order to show the structure prior to the massive amalgation of farms during the last 20 years, as it appears from Fig. 1. It deserves notice that in reality the reduction in number of farm-units started in the 19505, but did not appear in the agricultural statistics until amalgation of two or more farms was legalized by amendments to the Act after 1960.

The marked difference in size structure caused a significant regional variation in the change of relative importance of holding sizes such as demonstrated in Fig. 4 for two ectreme examples: Fyn and Ribe counties. The eastern example (Fyn) should be noticed for 1) many very small holdings (under 5 ha), 2) a relatively late starting decrease in the size classes 5-10 ha (1963) and 10-15 ha (1971), and 3) a modest increase in the 15-30 and 30-60 ha groups. In contrast to this, Ribe has 1) very few small holdings, 2) an earlier starting decrease in the size class up to 15 ha, and 3) a decrease also for holdings under 30 ha from 1971 and a substantial increase for holdings bigger than 30 ha.

The different development paths must be seen as a resultof several factors: The differences in historical backgroundand in land quality has already been pointed at. The possibilities of finding employment outside agricultureis another factor of importance. In areas close to biggercities small holdings will have a greater chance of survivingbecause the main income originates outside agriculture,especially after 1973 when holdings below 5 ha no longer serve only agricultural purpose. This tendency is very clear for example in Vestsjællands Amt (Table 1).

Fig. 3. The size-structure of farms 1963 in 5 selected areas as indicated in Fig. 2. The histograms show the percentage of farms in different size-classes. Notice the obvious change in sizestructure from west to east. Source: Landbrugsstatistik, 1963. Fig. 3. Bedriftsstørrelsesstrukturen (1963) i 5 udvalgte områder. Histogrammerne viser den procentvise fordeling af brug på størrelsesklasser. Bemærk det markante skift i størrelsesstrukturen fra vest til øst.

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Fig. 4. Change in farm-size classes for Ribe and Fyn counties. Each class is shown as the percentage of the total number of farms which is for Ribe approx. 12,000 (1960) and 7,600 (1980) and for Fyn approx. 21,400 (1960) and 12,300 (1980). NB: Due to change in the enumeration practise in 1977, when horticulture was included in the agricultural statistics, there was an increase in small farms. This causes a break in the curves showing the relative value of farm-size groups, most significant on Fyn, where horticulture is a dominating feature. Fig. 4. Udviklingen i de enkelte bedriftsstørrelseskategorier for Ribe og Fyns Amt. Hver kategori er angivet som procent af det totale brugsantal. (NB. Ændring i tællingspraksis i 1977).

The relative small reduction in the total amount of holdingsmust
be seen as a result of the fact that they serve as
homes for people working in the Copenhagen area.

Other selected examples in the table demonstrate, as expected, a slower decrease in the total number of farms in western Jutland (fewer small farms), and an earlier start of the amalgation process due to the less fertile land.

PREVAILING REGIONAL STRUCTURES

The last 20 years' reduction in number of farms due to amalgation has levelled some of the regional structural differences, but there are still substantial differences which also appear in the average size of holdings on the municipality level. As shown in Fig. 5, small averages are the general rule in eastern Denmark, with Lolland, southern Jutland, and northern Djursland as outstanding exceptions - the two first-mentioned can be explained by a tradition for big holdings in these areas, while the inferior quality of the soil must be the reason in northern Djursland. Even the variation within western Jutland mirrors to some extent local natural conditions: the average size of holdings tends to be smaller in the municipalities dominated by old moraines than in those dominated by outwash plains, and the big traditional holdings in the marsh areas are reflected in the pattern for south-west Jutland.

Table 1. Development in number of farms for selected counties (units as after the major change in the municipality system 1970). The figures in italics indicate the index when 1970 is 100. Besides the general decrease one can observe a marked difference between east and west: typical West-Danish counties, such as Ribe and Ringkøbing, experience a smaller change than other counties. Furthermore, the amalgation process starts earlier and with bigger strength in the eastern counties. * OBS. The two alternative numbers for 1970 are caused by a change in the enumeration practise (horticulture is included in the agricultural statistics). Sources: Landbrugsstatistik 1970. Landbrugsstatistik 1980. Tabel 1. Brugsantallet i udvalgte amter (inddelingen som efter 1970). Index er angivet med kursiv, 1970 er sat til 100. Foruden en generel nedgang kan man konstatere en markant forskel mellem øst- og vestdanske amter; sammenlægningerne starter således tidligere og er af større omfang i de østlige egne. OBS: Ændret tællingspraksis (gartneri indgår nu i landbrugstællingen) er årsag til afvigende opgørelse for 1970.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The fact that more than 97% of the holdings are owned by the farmers implies that the structure change in Danish agriculture is almost exclusively a result of individual choices.

In spite of this fact the development trends and regional structures shown above will provide some reasonable guidelines for changes to come in the near future, provided that no major changes in economic and political conditions will occur. It should therefore be within the planning outhorities' field of interest to know and understand the prevailing structure and thereby the development frame for different regions.

Resumé

I artiklen analyseres udvikling og regionale forskelle i dansk landbrugs

De regionale variationers rod i såvel naturbetingede forhold som i den historiske baggrund behandles. Typiske eksempler fremdrages fra østdanske områder, hvor lang dyrkningstradition og gode jorde har givet mange småbrug, og fra mindre frugtbare vestdanske områder med kortere dyrkningstradition (fig. 2 og 3).

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Fig. 5. Average farm size in hectars for municipalities in Denmark 1981 - the Copenhagen area excluded. The average figure for Denmark is about 25 hectares. Source: Unpublished data from agricultural enumeration, Statistics of Denmark. Fig. 5. Gennemsnitlig brugsstørrelse i de enkelte kommuner 1981 (Landsgennemsnit ca. 25 ha).

De seneste 25 års udviklingstendenser i retning af færre (fig. 1) men større brug udviser regionale forskelle, som i vid udstrækning skyldes, at udgangspunktet i 1960 varierede fra egn til egn (fig. 4), men også brugenes placering i forhold til større byer (især København) ses at spille ind (tabel 1).

På trods af at udviklingen har medført en vis udjævning af regionale forskelle, afspejler den gennemsnitlige brugsstørrelse i de enkelte kommuner tydeligt forskelle i naturgrundlag og historisk baggrund for egnens landbrug (fig. 5).

References:

Danmarks Statistik, København. Hartkornets og Jordeiendommenes
Fordeling. Stat. Tabelv. Ny rk. bd. 5, 3 rk. bd. 4, 32.
Danmarks Jordbrug. Stat. Tabelv. 4. rk. nr. 5,9.
Vurderingen til Ejendomsskyld. Stat. Tabelv. 5. rk. nr. 6, 12,
14.
Vurderingen til Grundskyld og Ejendomsskyld. Stat. Tabelv. 5.
rk. nr. 15, 17, 18, 21.
Landbrugsstatistik, var. years

Petersen, H. (1975): De Danske Landbrug, Copenhagen.