FAMILY FARMING IN AUSTRIA – DEFINITION, CHARACTERISTICS AND DEVELOPMENTS

The ongoing discourse on agri-structural development in Austria and the EU as well as initiatives at a global scale have brought the phenomenon of family farming back into political and scientific discussions. Despite this recent interest, culminating in the United Nations’ “2014 International Year of Family Farming”, family farming is a system in which people live and work that has developed over centuries, fundamentally shaping the structure and policy of agriculture, not only in Austria. Yet, a generalised depiction of family farms is not applicable. They come in many shapes and sizes in terms of land size and capital, farm focus and the different types of farming. This contribution starts by discussing the overall concept of family farming. Then, the developments in Austria are outlined using select key agri-structural data along with certain characteristics of family farming such as employment, participation in agri-environmental measures as well as the social and cultural aspects of family farms. The results show that the majority of farms in Austria are family farms. They therefore play a key role in implementing agricultural policy and also have a high stake in ensuring a divers agricultural landscape and animal husbandry. However, they have undergone considerable restructuring processes in the last decades and will be challenged to develop competitive strategies and become more attractive for future generations.