Agrarian nature management: income and subsidies

The income from agrarian nature management makes only a marginal contribution to family income.

Family income and subsidy for agrarian nature management in farms1) applying these methods
Farm type	Family income per farm		Subsidy for agrarian nature management
	1989/1999	1999/2000	1998/1999	1999/2000
x EUR 1000
Dairy cattle	40	39	2.5	3.2
Arable	75	48	2.1	2.7
Other	31	46	3.2	3.0
Source: LEI-Informatienet.				LEI/NC/oct02
1) Farms of 16-800 nge.

Trends

The average subsidy for agrarian nature management in 1999/2000 was approximately EUR 3100 for each farm. This represents 6 to 8% of a family income of EUR 39 000 (dairy farming) or EUR 48 000 (arable). Costs must also be deducted. Subsidies for agrarian nature management therefore make only a marginal contribution to the family income of farms, whether they are engaged in dairy, arable or other types of farming.

The subsidy provided for agrarian nature management is often based on the loss of income incurred and, to a small extent, on the extra work involved. Given that management does not usually involve much extra work and receiving a subsidy for loss of income does not represent any extra income, only a small part of the subsidy remains as extra income.