Agricultural landscapes are important elements of European culture. There is an increasing recognition that agricultural landscapes represent economic assets; not only because of the production of agricultural commodities, but also by offering significant opportunities for the socioeconomic...

In Folge bestehender Produktionsrichtlinien und -auflagen kommt es im Zuge der Umstellung auf biologische Wirtschaftsweise häufig zu einem erhöhten Investitionsbedarf in den landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben. Diese werden meist mit Unterstützung der Investitionsförderung (M121) durchgeführt....

Higher commodity price expectations have led to increases in cash lease rates nationwide. This study evaluates the farm level impacts of higher cash lease rates. Current levels of cash rents along with land tenure arrangements of specific farms are instrumental in determining the impacts of...

About 30 percent of the world’s soil carbon is stored in peat soils. Peatland’s functional principle of carbon storage greatly depends on management strategies. Therefore agricultural peatland use becomes a focal point of interest in the current debate on climate protection. Agricultural...

In comparison to flatland agriculture mountainous agriculture is often shaped by small plot sizes, unfavourable climatic conditions and steep slopes. All those conditions make it extraordinarily expensive to implement new technologies and to modernise farms. Consequently our research hypothesis...

In German agriculture structural change is mainly a result of the outmigration of smaller farms from the sector. The decisions of these farmers to leave or stay in the sector, are not based solely on financial data and market expectations. Other aspects are important such as the preservation of...

This paper presents a regional land-use model that conceives farms as independent agents aiming at maximum individual utility. Farm agents optimize their utility with the help of a linear-programming algorithm that takes into account natural, economic and personal restrictions. Interactions...