Coping strategies of cattle producers to a new agricultural policy framework

In this article we discuss the agricultural policy framework for German farmers after the Luxembourg decisions. The decisions have certainly had a positive impact on the WTO negotiations. Decoupling will result in a “greening” of EU subsidies making them internationally acceptable. Generally, decoupling is considered positive from an economic point at view, but there will be considerable adjustment processes on the farm level. Calculations in the Federal Agricultural Research Centre in Braunschweig show that bulls and suckler cows numbers will be cut down drastically. There will also be a slight increase in prices for arable land and a major increase in prices for pasture, as a consequence of the “regional model” applied in Germany. Open questions relate to the future use of land, international competitiveness, the design of “2. pillar activities , and the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy.

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