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  4. Farm structure survey

Farm structure survey

Kiirviited
  • Purpose
  • Type of activity
  • Statistical presentation
  • Reference period
  • Institutional mandate
Ava kõik atribuudid
Kontakt

Contact organisation: Statistics Estonia

Contact organisation unit: Economic and Environmental Statistics Department

Contact name: Ege Kirs

Contact person function: Agricultural and Technology Statistics Service Team, Leading Analyst

Contact mail address: Tatari 51, 10134 Tallinn, Estonia

Contact email address: ege.kirs@stat.ee

Contact phone number: 372 5359 9845


Metadata last certified 23/01/2026

Metadata last update 20/11/2025

Purpose
The data are used for the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policy areas of the European Union and Estonia. The main policies depending on these data are:
- the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), incl. direct payments, market measures, and rural development programmes
- the Water Framework Directive, incl. the Nitrates Directive and the Groundwater Directive
- air-related directives, incl. National Emission Ceiling, Air Quality, and Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control
- climate change policies (related to the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change)
- nature conservation legislation, the Birds and Habitats Directives, and other biodiversity policy measures
- soil-related policies, incl. the Soil Thematic Strategy and the Sewage Sludge Directive
- food safety, plant protection, and animal health and animal welfare regulations
- regional cohesion policy
- EU action plan for the Circular Economy.

In addition, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) relies on these data for researching the development of the above-mentioned policy areas, for developing models, etc.
Type of activity
Multisource process
Statistical presentation
Data description (S.3.1)
Farm Structure Surveys are conducted as a sample survey every 3–4 years in the European Union. The survey is carried out every 10 years as an agricultural census.

The core structural data of the Farm Structure Survey are the location, legal form, manager, land use, number of livestock and other general data of the holding.

Data on holding management: manager of the holding; information about the manager, incl. length of time as manager, age, sex, working hours in the holding (e.g. 25–50% of full-time working hours, etc.), agricultural qualifications and participation in vocational training.

Data on land use: land tenure by type, utilised agricultural area by type of ownership and agricultural crops.

Number of livestock, poultry and beehives.

The modules connected with the core structural data in the 2023 Farm Structure Survey were labour force and other gainful activities, rural development, tillage practices and machinery and equipment.

The modules connected with the core structural data in the 2020 Agricultural Census were labour force and other gainful activities, rural development, animal housing and manure management.

Labour force and other gainful activities of the holding: working hours of the holder and his or her family members, permanent, temporary and other employees; other gainful activities related to the holding, other gainful activities of the holding’s labour force outside the holding.

Rural development: receipt of rural development subsidies.

Animal housing and manure management: animal housing, nutrient use and manure in agricultural holdings, manure application techniques, facilities for manure.

Cultivation practices: tillage methods, soil cover in winter, crop rotation, ecological focus areas.

Machinery and equipment: use of the internet, own machinery and equipment, machinery sharing, precision farming, livestock machinery and equipment, storage of agricultural products, use of renewable energy equipment.

The data collected with the survey are combined with the crop and animal farming data from the organic farming register of the Estonian Agricultural and Food Board, data on rural development and other subsidies from the Agricultural Registers and Information Board, data on enterprise groups from the business register for statistical purposes, and data on the location of holdings.
Classification system (S.3.2)
Classification of Estonian administrative units and settlements (EHAK);

Classification of Use of Agricultural Land;

classification of agricultural holdings by type of farming (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/220
Sector coverage (S.3.3)
Farm Structure Surveys cover both legal and natural persons called agricultural holdings.

Contrary to other agricultural statistics, Farm Structure Surveys cover only those agricultural holdings above the threshold agreed within the EU, i.e. holdings that meet at least one of the following conditions:
- 5 hectares of utilised agricultural area (incl. arable land, permanent grassland, fruit and/or berry plantations, tree nurseries and kitchen gardens);
- 2 hectares of arable land;
- 0.5 hectares of potatoes;
- 0.5 hectares of outdoor vegetables or strawberries;
- 0.2 hectares of aromatic and medicinal plants and herbs, flowers and/or ornamental plants, area under seeds, outdoor tree nurseries;
- 0.3 hectares of fruit and berry plantations and/or other permanent outdoor crops;
- 0.1 hectares of outdoor grapevines;
- 100 m² of greenhouses;
- 1.7 livestock units of animals (one livestock unit corresponds to, e.g., 1 dairy cow; other animals have lower coefficients, e.g. 0.8 for a non-dairy cow; 0.3 for a fattening pig; 0.007 for a broiler, etc.).

The data collected must cover at least 98% of the utilised agricultural area (excl. kitchen gardens) and 98% of the livestock units in the country.
Statistical concepts and definitions (S.3.4)
Agricultural holding – until 2019 inclusive, agricultural holding was a single unit, both technically and economically, that has a single management and that produces agricultural products or maintains its land in good agricultural and environmental condition and where there is at least one hectare of utilised agricultural area or there is less than one hectare of utilised agricultural area and agricultural products are produced mainly for sale.
From 2020, agricultural holding is a single unit, both technically and economically, that has a single management and where there is at least:
- 5 hectares of utilised agricultural area or
- 2 hectares of arable land or
- 0.5 hectares of potatoes or
- 0.5 hectares of outdoor vegetables and strawberries or
- 0.2 hectares of aromatic and medicinal plants and herbs, flowers, seeds, outdoor tree nurseries or
- 0.3 hectares of fruit and berry plantations, other permanent outdoor crops or
- 0.1 hectares of outdoor grapevines or
- 100 m² of greenhouses or
- 1.7 livestock units of animals.
Units where agricultural products are not produced but land is maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition are considered as agricultural holdings from 2007.

Arable land – land worked regularly, generally under a system of crop rotation.
Arable land consists of:
- area under cereals (wheat, rye, triticale, barley, oats, mixed grain, buckwheat) for the production of dry grain;
- area under dry pulses (peas, field beans and lupins, other dry pulses, including mixture of cereals and dry pulses) for the production of dry grain;
- area under potatoes;
- area under fodder roots (excluding seeds);
- area under industrial crops (rape and turnip rape, linseed, flax, aromatic and medicinal plants and herbs, other industrial crops);
- area under fresh vegetables, outdoor or under low (non-accessible) cover;
- area under flowers and ornamental plants, outdoor or under low (non-accessible) cover;
- area under fresh vegetables under glass or high (accessible) cover (crops which for the whole of the period of growth or for the predominant part of it are covered by greenhouses or fixed or mobile high cover (glass or rigid or flexible plastic));
- area under flowers and ornamental plants under glass or high (accessible) cover (crops which for the whole of the period of growth or for the predominant part of it are covered by greenhouses or fixed or mobile high cover (glass or rigid or flexible plastic));
- area under annual forage crops (cereals, maize, dry pulses, rape and turnip rape, other annual forage crops);
- area under multiannual forage crops (leguminous plants and grasses for hay, silage or grazing, grown in temporary grassland in rotation with other arable crops and occupying the same land for a maximum of five years);
- area under forage crops seeds;
- fallow land – land left to recover, normally for the whole of a crop year (bare land and green fallow).

Conversion period – transition from non-organic to organic farming, within a given time period, during which the provisions concerning organic production are applied. During that period, the production cannot yet be labelled as organic.

Fruit and berry plantation – area for growing fruits and berries (incl. forest berries, and fruits and berries grown in kitchen garden for own consumption)

Fully converted – agricultural area and/or livestock which has passed the fixed conversion period from non-organic to organic farming, during which the provisions concerning organic production were and will be continuously applied. After the conversion period, the production can be labelled as organic.

Kitchen garden – area separated from the rest of the holding’s agricultural land, devoted to the cultivation of agricultural products for the consumption by persons living on the holding (only occasional surplus products are sold). Decorative gardens (parks and lawns) are not included.

Labour input in annual work units (AWU) – at least 1,800 hours of agricultural work on the holding over a 12-month period

Livestock unit (LSU) – a standard measurement unit that allows the aggregation of various species of livestock and poultry. Livestock units are defined on the basis of the feed requirements of individual animal categories. A dairy cow corresponds to one livestock unit, the coefficients of other animals are smaller (e.g. bovine animal – 0.8; fattening pig – 0.3; broiler – 0.007). The coefficients of livestock units are stated with EU Parliament and Council regulation No 2018/1091.

Manure application techniques are as follows:
- broadcast (manure incorporated into the soil within 4 hours after application, manure incorporated into the soil between 4 and 24 hours after application, manure not incorporated into the soil or manure incorporated into the soil after 24 hours);
- band spread with a trailing hose (manure is spread on the ground – grass or arable land – using a number of flexible hoses);
- band spread with a trailing shoe (manure is usually spread using rigid tubes attached to foot- or shoe-shaped devices, so that the manure is spread directly on the ground under the plant. Some trailing shoe spreaders cut a shallow slit in the soil to improve infiltration);
- injection, shallow/open-slit (manure is applied in shallow slits, typically around 50 mm deep, regardless of whether the slits are left open or closed after application);
- injection, deep/closed-slit (manure is applied in deep slits, typically around 150 mm deep, which are closed after application).

Nursery – area of young ligneous (woody) plants, fruit trees, berry bushes or ornamental young plants grown in the open air (incl. greenhouses) for subsequent planting in gardens, parks, etc; commercial forest-tree nurseries, whether in woodland or outside, are included. Excluded are non-commercial nurseries of forest trees in woodland.

Organic farming – sustainable production of agricultural produce, which maintains basic equilibrium, is environmentally sustainable, and is carried out in compliance with the Organic Farming Act and other relevant legislation. Holdings with organic farm production have the approval of the Estonian Agriculture and Food Board (either fully compliant with the principles of organic production or still in a conversion period).

Permanent grassland – land used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage naturally (self-seeded) or through cultivation (sown), and that has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for five years or more. It may include other species suitable for grazing, provided that the grasses or other herbaceous forage remain predominant.

Standard output – the monetary value of gross agricultural production at farm-gate price corresponding to the average situation of any agricultural activity, which is calculated on the basis of crop area, number of livestock, and standard output coefficients.

Type of farming – determined on the basis of the share of standard output. If the share of one activity is at least two thirds of the holding’s standard output, the holding is considered to be a specialist holding, otherwise it is engaged in mixed farming.

Utilised agricultural area – area utilised in the survey year for agricultural production or maintained in good agricultural and environmental conditions (incl. arable land, permanent grassland, fruit and berry plantations, nurseries, and kitchen gardens). Land not used for agricultural production but maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition is included in agricultural area from 2007.
Statistical unit (S.3.5)
Agricultural holding
Statistical population (S.3.6)
Agricultural holding above the threshold agreed within the EU, i.e. holding that meets at least one of the following conditions:
- 5 hectares of utilised agricultural area (incl. arable land, permanent grassland, fruit and berry plantations, nurseries and kitchen gardens);
- 2 hectares of arable land;
- 0.5 hectares of potatoes;
- 0.5 hectares of vegetables and strawberries;
- 0.2 hectares of aromatic and medicinal plants and herbs, flowers and ornamental plants, area under seeds and nurseries;
- 0.3 hectares of fruit and berry plantations and other permanent crops;
- 0.1 hectares of grapes;
- 100 m² of greenhouses;
- 1.7 livestock units of animals (one livestock unit corresponds to, e.g. 1 non-dairy cow; other animals have lower coefficients, e.g. 0.8 for a bovine animal, 0.3 for a fattening pig, 0.007 for a broiler, etc.).
Reference area (S.3.7)
Estonia as a whole
Time coverage (S.3.8)
2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2020, 2023

Data since the 2001 Agricultural Census have been published in the database. An Agricultural Census is a Farm Structure Survey in which the estimates are based on the complete enumeration of all holdings.

Since 2020, a new threshold for agricultural holdings is used in the Farm Structure Survey across the European Union (since 2023, data on grapes are included in the threshold in Estonia). Therefore, without recalculations, the data are not directly comparable with data from previous years. The data from the 2023 Farm Structure Survey are directly comparable with the data from the 2020 Agricultural Census.

To enable comparability with the data of the previous years, the data for 2010 have been recalculated, where possible, according to the new threshold for agricultural holdings.
Base period (S.3.9)
Not applicable
Reference period
Year.

Land use data are for 2023. Animal farming data are as at 1 September 2023 (the moment of survey). Data on labour force, cultivation practices and machinery and equipment are for the 12 months preceding the moment of survey.

Manure management data and the average number of animals in animal housing are for the 12 months preceding the moment of survey.

Rural development subsidies are for the period 2021–2023. Other data are as at 1 September 2023.
Institutional mandate
Legal acts and other agreements (S.6.1)
Official Statistics Act;

Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018
on integrated farm statistics and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1166/2008 and (EU) No 1337/2011 (Text with EEA relevance);

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2286 of 16 December 2021 on the data to be provided for the reference year 2023 pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 of the European Parliament and of the Council on integrated farm statistics as regards the list of variables and their description and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 1200/2009 (Text with EEA relevance);

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/405 of 16 March 2020 specifying the arrangements for, and contents of, the quality reports to be transmitted under Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 of the European Parliament and of the Council on integrated farm statistics (Text with EEA relevance).

Administrative data are obtained on the basis of contracts from ARIB, the Agriculture and Food Board and the Land and Spatial Development Board, as well as from the Tax and Customs Board (employment register) and the Transport Administration (traffic register).
Data sharing (S.6.2)
None
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