August 21, 2009
Switzerland sees growth in livestock numbers; farmland declines
The numbers of cattle and poultry in Switzerland are rising steadily while farmland continues to decline, according to recent census reports.
The number of cattle increased by about 19,000, while the number of poultry reached a record high of 8.5 million, according to figures released by the Federal Statistics Office.
The number of farms and the area of land used for agriculture continue to decline. In 2008 there were 60,894 farms in the country as a whole, down by around 870 or 1.4 per cent from 2007.
The average size of farms is growing, although about one-third are less than 10 hectares, and one-third are between 10 and 20 hectares.
Despite the fact that the size of the average farm increased, the total area used for farming fell. The number of organic farms also dropped to below 6,000 for the first time since 2002.
