3 New Trends and Drivers for Agricultural Land Use in Germany
55
like North-West Germany (Lower Saxony 24%, North Rhine-Westphalia 10%) and
Bavaria (21%) (Statistisches Bundesamt 2016b). In some regions the maize production share amounts to more than 45% of agricultural area used. The reasons for this
local concentration relate to animal production (and, thus, to liquid manure use), technological synergy effects, and opportunity costs in agricultural production (Scholz
2015; Breustedt and Habermann 2011). Hence, this new development in agricultural
land use is clearly (energy) policy-induced.
The increasing “Vermaisung” (increasing maize cultivation) of the countryside
has been analyzed and criticized from various sides. Maize cultivation has led to
reduced crop rotation and to monoculture tendencies, which is counterproductive
from an agronomic point of view and a threat to biodiversity from an ecological
point of view (Linhart and Dhungel 2013). Within the agricultural sector, the biogas
boom has led to new income opportunities for some farmers (and for non-farm
investors), but it has also influenced the competitiveness between farms and production orientation. E.g., the opportunity costs of milk production have increased in some
regions due to competition for the same production factor: maize. More generally,
the increased land use for biogas production has contributed to higher land prices,
thus, increasing cost of production for agricultural production. Various studies have
shown this land market effect of maize cultivation and biogas production (Hennig
and Latacz-Lohmann 2017; Bund-Länder-Arbeitsgruppe 2015; Breustedt and Habermann 2011). An interesting side effect of the increased maize cultivation area is the
potential effect on the wild boar population (Hahn 2014).
Additional competition on land markets may also be caused by demand for wind
power installations. The profit of wind power installations has been calculated to be
around 9,000 e/ha/year (Ritter et al. 2015). Direct land requirement for wind power
installations is in the range of 200–400 m
2 per unit, supplemented by additional
indirect land requirements for distance and compensatory areas. In 2018, the total
number of onshore wind power units in Germany amounts to 29,213 (Bundesverband
Windenergie 2018). The effect of wind power installations on land price increases
in Brandenburg has been calculated to be 5% (Ritter et al. 2015).
A German land market specialty is the privatization of land in the East German
Bundesländer after reunification. In the former German Democratic Republic the
state owned 2.1 million hectares (almost a third) of agricultural land that was to be
privatized after reunification. The Bodenverwertungs- und -verwaltungsgesellschaft
(BVVG) was created to guide and to carry out the land privatization process. At
the beginning the BVVG favored long-term leasing of land; land sales started in
1995. A part of the land privatization took place in accordance with the rules of
the EALG (Entschädigungs- und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz). Until 2009, entitled
persons (tenant farmers and previous owners) could buy land at special conditions
(35% under market value) (Jochimsen 2010). In 2007, the BVVG fundamentally
modified the guidelines of privatization: The principles now are call for tender and
sale to highest bidder. Since 1992 a total of 869,100 ha of agricultural land have been
privatized, of which 80% were sold to local tenant farmers, and 51% were sold under
the rules of the EALG (16% to previous owners, 84% to tenant farmers) (BVVG
2018). The still possible EALG-sales to previous owners will end in the foreseeable
55
like North-West Germany (Lower Saxony 24%, North Rhine-Westphalia 10%) and
Bavaria (21%) (Statistisches Bundesamt 2016b). In some regions the maize production share amounts to more than 45% of agricultural area used. The reasons for this
local concentration relate to animal production (and, thus, to liquid manure use), technological synergy effects, and opportunity costs in agricultural production (Scholz
2015; Breustedt and Habermann 2011). Hence, this new development in agricultural
land use is clearly (energy) policy-induced.
The increasing “Vermaisung” (increasing maize cultivation) of the countryside
has been analyzed and criticized from various sides. Maize cultivation has led to
reduced crop rotation and to monoculture tendencies, which is counterproductive
from an agronomic point of view and a threat to biodiversity from an ecological
point of view (Linhart and Dhungel 2013). Within the agricultural sector, the biogas
boom has led to new income opportunities for some farmers (and for non-farm
investors), but it has also influenced the competitiveness between farms and production orientation. E.g., the opportunity costs of milk production have increased in some
regions due to competition for the same production factor: maize. More generally,
the increased land use for biogas production has contributed to higher land prices,
thus, increasing cost of production for agricultural production. Various studies have
shown this land market effect of maize cultivation and biogas production (Hennig
and Latacz-Lohmann 2017; Bund-Länder-Arbeitsgruppe 2015; Breustedt and Habermann 2011). An interesting side effect of the increased maize cultivation area is the
potential effect on the wild boar population (Hahn 2014).
Additional competition on land markets may also be caused by demand for wind
power installations. The profit of wind power installations has been calculated to be
around 9,000 e/ha/year (Ritter et al. 2015). Direct land requirement for wind power
installations is in the range of 200–400 m
2 per unit, supplemented by additional
indirect land requirements for distance and compensatory areas. In 2018, the total
number of onshore wind power units in Germany amounts to 29,213 (Bundesverband
Windenergie 2018). The effect of wind power installations on land price increases
in Brandenburg has been calculated to be 5% (Ritter et al. 2015).
A German land market specialty is the privatization of land in the East German
Bundesländer after reunification. In the former German Democratic Republic the
state owned 2.1 million hectares (almost a third) of agricultural land that was to be
privatized after reunification. The Bodenverwertungs- und -verwaltungsgesellschaft
(BVVG) was created to guide and to carry out the land privatization process. At
the beginning the BVVG favored long-term leasing of land; land sales started in
1995. A part of the land privatization took place in accordance with the rules of
the EALG (Entschädigungs- und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz). Until 2009, entitled
persons (tenant farmers and previous owners) could buy land at special conditions
(35% under market value) (Jochimsen 2010). In 2007, the BVVG fundamentally
modified the guidelines of privatization: The principles now are call for tender and
sale to highest bidder. Since 1992 a total of 869,100 ha of agricultural land have been
privatized, of which 80% were sold to local tenant farmers, and 51% were sold under
the rules of the EALG (16% to previous owners, 84% to tenant farmers) (BVVG
2018). The still possible EALG-sales to previous owners will end in the foreseeable