KAZALCI OKOLJA

Key message
Neutral

Intensity of agriculture in Slovenia is moderate, directed mostly at improving labour intensity in agricultural production, i.e. reducing the input of labour per unit of area or product. The number of livestock units (LU) per hectare of utilised agricultural area, as the aggregate indicator of production intensity, is stable; in the 2000–2020 period, the stocking density, like in other EU countries, has slightly decreased. Due to economic pressures (market-price relationships) the agricultural holdings are forced to reduce production costs and increase productivity and farming intensity. The intensity of agricultural production in Slovenia in the period of 2000–2020 moderately increased. The increase is the result of the continued reduction in the number of agricultural holdings and the concentration of agricultural production.


The intensity of agriculture is an indicator that reflects the level of increase in productivity of agricultural production, which is expressed per unit of agricultural area or per head of animal. It consists of four indicators for the selected key production orientations in Slovenia. For livestock production, it is calculated as the number of head of livestock units (LU) per hectare of utilized agricultural area (UAA) and the average milk production per dairy cow. For crop production, it is calculated as the average yield of wheat and spelt per hectare of UAA and the average yield of maize per hectare of UAA.


Charts

Figure KM04-1: Intensity of stocking and production: the average yield of wheat and maize per hectare, milk yield and number of livestock units per hectare of utilised agricultural area in the period 2000–2019
Sources:

SORS, 2021; calculations by AIS

Show data
Wheat and spelt [t/ha] Maize [t/ha] Stocking rate [LU/ha UAA] Milk yield [t/cow]
2000 4.25 5.88 0.97 4.63
2001 4.60 5.41 np 4.81
2002 4.89 8.16 np 5.20
2003 3.45 5.08 0.94 5.06
2004 4.53 7.78 np 4.85
2005 4.70 8.29 0.87 5.48
2006 4.19 6.93 np 5.71
2007 4.16 7.54 0.89 5.73
2008 4.53 7.32 np 5.76
2009 3.96 7.84 np 5.53
2010 4.80 8.54 0.89 5.52
2011 5.18 8.69 np 5.52
2012 5.44 7.08 np 5.59
2013 4.35 5.41 0.84 5.43
2014 5.23 9.15 np 5.72
2015 5.11 8.97 np 5.60
2016 5.19 9.51 0.87 6.02
2017 5.03 7.11 np 5.95
2018 4.38 9.45 np 6.12
2019 5.23 9.27 np 6.18
2020 5.80 10.79 0.86 np
Figure KM04-2: Agricultural holdings in Slovenia by number of livestock in 2000, 2010, 2016 and 2020
Sources:

SORS, 2021; calculations by AIS

Show data
2000 [number] 2010 [number] 2016 [number] 2020 [number] Number of holdings - 2000 [number] Number of holdings - 2010 [number] Number of holdings - 2016 [number] Number of holdings - 2016 [number] Livestock breeding - 2000 [number] Livestock breeding - 2010 [number] Livestock breeding - 2016 [number] Livestock breeding - 2016 [number]
Cattle 8.91 13.08 14.82 16.72 56097 36119 32805 28485 499546 472333 486014 476382
Pigs 13.49 14.45 12.07 19.30 44623 26441 22649 12198 601953 382031 273359 235473
Sheep 22.18 22.28 21.94 22.80 4330 6181 6150 5016 96027 137737 134929 114365
Goats 6.15 8.27 8.39 8.12 4775 4214 4598 3374 29385 34864 38564 27385
LU 6.07 7.19 7.51 9.09 77452 58648 55782 44974 470498 421553 418684 408683
Figure KM04-3: Agricultural holdings in Slovenia by average production area of wheat and maize in the period 2000–2020
Sources:

SORS, 2021; calculations by AIS

Show data
Wheat and spelt [ha per holding] Maize [ha per holding] Wheat and spelt [number of holdings] Wheat and spelt [ha] Maize [number of holdings] Maize [ha]
2000 1.24 1.07 30905 38257 44826 48009
2003 1.40 1.22 25457 35585 36141 44137
2005 1.36 1.24 22100 30059 34212 42369
2007 1.52 1.42 21014 32040 28844 40905
2010 1.71 1.47 18690 31946 24795 36433
2013 1.77 1.72 18635 32959 24670 42375
2016 2.05 1.74 16086 33016 21242 36985
2020 2.35 2.13 11589 27286 18706 39828
Figure KM04-4: Number of livestock units (LU) per hectare of utilised agricultural area (UAA) in Slovenia and selected EU countries in 2000, 2010, 2016
Sources:

Eurostat, 2021; calculations by AIS

Show data
LU per ha UAA - 2000 [LU/ha UAA] LU per ha UAA - 2010 [LU/ha UAA] LU per ha UAA - 2016 [LU/ha UAA] LU - 2000 [number] LU - 2010 [number] LU - 2016 [number] UAA - 2000 [ha] UAA - 2010 [ha] UAA - 2016 [ha]
Belgium 3.13 2.80 2.79 4359330 3798680 3772750 1393780 1358020 1354250
Slovenia 0.97 1.07 1.05 611100 518480 512120 485879 482650 488400
Austria 0.79 0.87 0.89 2673930 2517170 2432030 3388230 2878170 2726890
Greece 0.71 0.46 0.43 2540110 2406520 2102870 3583190 5177510 4856780
Figure KM04-5: Average milk yield of cows in Slovenia and selected EU countries in the period 2000–2019
Sources:

Eurostat, 2021

Show data
Dairy cows - Slovenia [number] Milk production - Slovenia [t] Slovenia [kg/cow] Dairy cows - Austria [number] Milk production - Austria [t] Austria [kg/cow] Dairy cows - Belgium [number] Milk production - Belgium [t] Belgium [kg/cow] Dairy cows - Greece [number] Milk production - Greece [t] Greece [kg/cow]
2000 140240 649000 4627.78 621000 3233100 5206.28 629400 3425000 5441.69 180000 789300 4385
2001 135810 653000 4808.19 597980 3299600 5517.91 611320 3357000 5491.40 172000 778100 4523.84
2002 139980 686000 4900.70 588970 3292200 5589.76 591010 3160000 5346.78 152000 758200 4988.16
2003 130710 664400 5083.01 557880 3229900 5789.60 572140 3127000 5465.45 149000 767800 5153.02
2004 134010 650400 4853.37 537950 3137300 5831.95 570610 3120000 5467.83 150000 762200 5081.33
2005 120270 659030 5479.59 534420 3113700 5826.32 548150 3082000 5622.55 152260 761300 5000
2006 112510 642260 5708.47 527420 3146700 5966.21 531910 2917000 5484.01 167750 763800 4553.20
2007 117170 666470 5688.06 524500 3155100 6015.44 524290 2943000 5613.31 150000 774000 5160
2008 113450 653680 5761.83 530230 3195900 6027.38 517770 2892000 5585.49 154000 787200 5111.69
2009 113100 625520 5530.68 532980 3229800 6059.89 517680 2996000 5787.36 145000 752800 5191.72
2010 109470 603930 5516.85 532740 3257700 6114.99 517740 3111000 6008.81 144000 743660 5164.31
2011 109070 601590 5515.63 527390 3307130 6270.75 510650 3151000 6170.57 130000 757000 5823.08
2012 111020 620940 5593.05 523370 3382100 6462.16 503540 3116000 6188.19 132000 765500 5799.24
2013 109570 595500 5434.88 529560 3393060 6407.32 515990 3529000 6839.28 130000 730600 5620
2014 107840 616580 5717.54 537740 3493860 6497.30 519090 3710000 7147.12 135000 769000 5696.30
2015 112840 631670 5597.93 534100 3537760 6623.78 528780 3826000 7235.52 111000 770000 6936.94
2016 107840 649680 6024.48 539870 3627610 6719.41 530590 3969000 7480.35 106000 706000 6660.38
2017 108830 647990 5954.15 543420 3712730 6832.16 519160 4110000 7916.63 97000 670000 6907.22
2018 102710 628930 6123.36 532870 3821190 7170.96 529250 4244000 8018.89 95000 654800 6892.63
2019 100840 623020 6178.30 524070 3781340 7215.33 537960 4351000 8087.96 86000 659380 7667.21
Figure KM04-6: Average production of wheat in Slovenia, and selected EU countries in the period 2000–2020
Sources:

Eurostat, 2021; calculations by AIS

Show data
Wheat and spelt area - Slovenia [ha] Wheat harvest - Slovenia [t] Slovenia [t/ha] Wheat area - Austria[ha] Wheat harvest - Austria[t] Austria [t/ha] Wheat area - Belgium [ha] Wheat harvest - Belgium [t] Belgium [t/ha] Wheat area - Greece [ha] Wheat harvest - Greece [t] Greece [t/ha]
2000 38260 162560 4.25 293800 1313000 4.47 213000 1687600 7.92 829290 1858860 2.24
2001 39340 181080 4.60 287700 1508300 5.24 181000 1457400 8.05 931080 1827500 1.96
2002 35730 174870 4.89 288800 1434300 4.97 203000 1675100 8.25 890310 1782410 2.00
2003 35590 122920 3.45 272000 1191400 4.38 199000 1692900 8.51 851090 1629770 1.91
2004 32390 146830 4.53 290200 1718800 5.92 212000 1913100 9.02 838860 1773860 2.11
2005 30060 141290 4.70 289000 1453100 5.03 214000 1799400 8.41 868740 1761060 2.03
2006 32080 134450 4.19 284600 1396300 4.91 210000 1719500 8.19 685170 1574900 2.30
2007 32040 133340 4.16 293000 1399300 4.78 210000 1645300 7.83 678050 1389680 2.05
2008 35410 160300 4.53 296800 1689700 5.69 224000 1944300 8.68 657370 1939360 2.95
2009 34530 136900 3.96 309100 1523400 4.93 211500 1978100 9.35 781990 2140480 2.74
2010 31950 153480 4.80 302850 1517810 5.01 213000 1912800 8.98 661050 2025270 3.06
2011 29670 153580 5.18 304330 1781840 5.85 200710 1687730 8.41 543700 1850060 3.40
2012 34590 188070 5.44 308180 1275500 4.14 217100 1834600 8.45 563200 1567570 2.78
2013 31760 138240 4.35 297290 1597710 5.37 201860 1843600 9.13 579270 1643430 2.84
2014 33120 173240 5.23 304650 1804020 5.92 210760 1918980 9.11 545380 1663780 3.05
2015 30730 157060 5.11 302970 1725740 5.70 221780 2076260 9.36 488200 1139750 2.33
2016 31460 163170 5.19 317760 1977040 6.22 215720 1446580 6.71 537590 1594880 2.97
2017 28020 140960 5.03 297280 1442770 4.85 197590 1702720 8.62 415950 1023900 2.46
2018 27820 121900 4.38 294290 1375060 4.67 195690 1652250 8.44 404490 1072940 2.65
2019 26730 139810 5.23 278340 1606220 5.77 203760 1895770 9.30 350490 979220 2.79
2020 27270 158050 5.80 279020 1662400 5.96 195400 1719200 8.80 331730 842400 2.54
Figure KM04-7: Average production of grain maize in Slovenia, and selected EU countries in the period 2000–2020
Sources:

Eurostat, 2021; calculations by AIS

Show data
Maize area - Slovenia [ha] Maize harvest - Slovenia [t] Slovenia [t/ha] Maize area - Austria [ha] Maize harvest - Austria [t] Austria [t/ha] Maize area - Belgium [ha] Maize harvest - Belgium [t] Belgium [t/ha] Maize area - Greece [ha] Maize harvest - Greece [t] Greece [t/ha]
2000 48010 282390 5.88 164100 1617500 9.86 35783 397400 11.11 208250 1850370 8.89
2001 47570 257550 5.41 171400 1493000 8.71 40555 460900 11.36 210390 1900260 9.03
2002 45530 371370 8.16 172200 1666600 9.68 47392 530700 11.20 225470 2004510 8.89
2003 44140 224220 5.08 173300 1452100 8.38 52723 554700 10.52 249020 2205520 8.86
2004 46000 357620 7.77 178700 1653700 9.25 52200 637800 12.22 251410 2210400 8.79
2005 42370 351170 8.29 167200 1724800 10.32 54300 634100 11.68 241420 2168930 8.98
2006 39840 276110 6.93 159300 1471700 9.24 56500 575900 10.19 179130 1646630 9.19
2007 40910 308260 7.54 170900 1696500 9.93 58200 698900 12.01 190340 1927540 10.13
2008 43700 319900 7.32 194100 2147200 11.06 72015 858800 11.93 240100 2472140 10.30
2009 38610 302600 7.84 178500 1890500 10.59 66700 808100 12.12 235260 2432870 10.34
2010 36430 311120 8.54 201140 1955990 9.72 69800 745900 10.69 181050 1912150 10.56
2011 40190 349030 8.68 217100 2453130 11.30 72030 859690 11.94 181880 2195790 12.07
2012 39170 277360 7.08 219700 2351370 10.70 67200 733600 10.92 183950 2009790 10.93
2013 41860 226630 5.41 201920 1639020 8.12 74170 837600 11.29 183010 2145250 11.72
2014 38330 350730 9.15 216320 2334390 10.79 62830 778570 12.39 159780 1824140 11.42
2015 37740 338710 8.97 188730 1637910 8.68 58400 692960 11.87 152050 1542300 10.14
2016 36390 346210 9.51 195250 2179590 11.16 52100 480730 9.23 139480 1448650 10.39
2017 38290 272180 7.11 209480 2075980 9.91 49000 608670 12.42 132490 1306510 9.86
2018 37080 350490 9.45 209900 2130340 10.15 53990 443000 8.21 113450 1205980 10.63
2019 38880 360360 9.27 220690 2298880 10.42 48640 529600 10.89 115500 1233620 10.68
2020 39850 430020 10.79 212600 2411930 11.34 52100 546600 10.49 114370 1131160 9.89
Figure KM04-8: Number of LU per hectare of UAA by municipalities
Note:

Data from agricultural holdings survey 2010; date of data collection: 26. 10. 2016


Goals

World agriculture, and also European and Slovenian agriculture, is once again facing the challenge of ensuring global food security. According to United Nations forecasts, the population will increase to 9 billion by 2050. In order to feed such a large number of people, it would be necessary to double the current volume of agricultural production. Due to limited natural resources, such an increase in production will increase the pressure on arable land and the availability of water, but we can also expect greater negative effects on the environment due to the higher intensity of production. Agricultural intensity is a process that can be one of the biggest pressures in uncontrolled conditions on nature and the environment, so there are several conflicting objectives in this regard:

  • restructuring in agriculture, increasing productivity and increasing the competitiveness of agriculture (rural development program 2014–2020),
  • eradicating hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture (Agenda 2030),
  • protection, conservation and improvement of the European Union's natural capital (7th EAP),
  • the protection of European Union citizens against environmental pressures and risks to health and well-being (7th Environmental Action Program).

According to provisional data from the latest Census of Agricultural Holdings, in 2020 there were 67,927 agricultural holdings in Slovenia. As many as two thirds of them were engaged in animal husbandry, with more than half (63%) of them engaged in cattle breeding. The number of livestock farms decreased by almost half (-42%) in the period 2000–2020.

The average Slovenian livestock farm breed 9.2 LU in 2020, which is 50% more than in 2000. As in other EU countries, the livestock density is decreasing in Slovenia as well, only in the period 2000–2016 it decreased by 17%. The presentation of the number of large livestock

According to the provisional data from the latest Census of Agricultural Holdings, in 2020 there were 67,927 agricultural holdings in Slovenia. As many as two thirds of them were engaged in animal husbandry, with more than half (63%) of them engaged in cattle breeding. The number of livestock farms decreased by almost half (-42%) in the period 2000–2020. The stocking density at the municipal level in 2010 shows a relatively atypical and dispersed spatial distribution.

Despite a very rapid decline in dairy-oriented holdings and a slightly less pronounced decline in the number of dairy cows, total production volume continues to grow with regular annual fluctuations. The reason is a marked increase in the concentration of milk production - the average number of dairy cows per agricultural holding in the period 2000–2016 increased by 114%, while the intensity of production also increased.

The average milk production per dairy cow (milk yield) in the period 2000–2019 in Slovenia increased by 1,553 kg or by 34%. Over the same period, average milk yield increased by 39% in Austria, by 49% in Belgium and by as much as 75% in Greece.

With almost 6,200 kg of milk per cow in 2019, Slovenia lags far behind some other Member States of the European Union, where the processes of concentration and intensification of production are much faster.

Wheat and maize for grain are the most important crops in Slovenia, and in 2020 11,589 (wheat and spelt) and 27,286 (maize) agricultural holdings were engaged in their production. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of agricultural holdings engaged in wheat and spelt production decreased by 63% and those engaged in maize production by 58%. In the observed period the total area under wheat and spelt decreased by 29% while in the case of maize, the areas decreased by 17%. The concentration of production per holding has greatly increased. The average production area of ​​wheat and spelt and the average production area of maize per agricultural holding practically doubled in the period 2000–2020.

The intensity of wheat production, measured by the amount of yield per hectare, in Slovenia is at the level of the long-term average and is 0,51 tonne lower than in Austria and as much as 3,8 tonne per hectare lower than in Belgium. The yield per hectare in Slovenia has not changed significantly for several years. It is similar with maize, except that the annual fluctuation is slightly bigger due to climatic factors.

Slovenian agriculture is facing an unfavourable ownership and size structure, which largely prevents an increase in the intensity and competitiveness of agricultural production. Some agricultural policy measures and the use of new technological solutions (land operations, optimization of feed rations, lower use of plant protection products, improvement of soil properties etc.) can contribute to increasing the intensity, while reducing negative pressures on the environment.


Methodology

Date of data source summarization