Austrian pig farmers have been confronted with a constantly changing market environment in recent years. The high feed and piglet costs, changes to the legal framework (slatted floor) in combination with last year's record pig prices represented both a test and an opportunity. In view of record inflation and high costs, the Europe-wide reduction in pig production led to record prices last year. At the same time, the growing social debate about animal welfare and climate change, as well as the lack of purchasing power, have led to a decline in per capita pork consumption in Austria and the EU. Under these conditions, the exchange of information and further training measures are becoming increasingly important as essential factors for individual farm success. The technical production and economic data recorded by the member farms form an essential basis for economic farm analyses. Their analyses provide important information on the economic situation on the farms and for deriving measures that can lead to an improvement in the farm's success.
Objective
The aim of the project is to support the working groups in the further development of the indicator scheme and the evaluation of farm data. The Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics and Mining (BAB) is responsible for calculating the key figures presented in the Federal Report. In this respect, the focus is on collecting, checking and analysing the working group data. The BAB also writes individual chapters of the Federal Report, for example on developments in the global pig market. The results of the Federal Report and the analyses and data comparisons it contains are an important tool for identifying operational strengths and weaknesses and for tapping into untapped potential. The data is also an important basis for scientific projects such as sector analyses or contribution margin calculations.
Status of the project
Six years ago, the federal reports of all working groups were restructured and streamlined to focus on essential content, graphics were modernised and a chapter introducing a member company was included. The LFI has been responsible for the coordination and standardised final editing (collection of content, layout, correction) of all federal reports since 2019. The work packages for the BAB in 2024 included, in particular, sending out the data sheets, data collection, data evaluation, organising and chairing the editorial meeting, drawing up the associated agenda and writing selected content for the federal report, including a short report.
Work 2025
The central work of the project in 2025 will again involve collecting, checking and analysing the production and economic data submitted by the individual working groups. In addition, certain chapters for the Federal Report will again be written, a summary of the most important results will be compiled and a collection of the most important tables and charts will be compiled. The annual editorial meeting to be organised in spring serves to discuss and debrief the evaluation results between the federal states. At this meeting, the chapter responsibilities for writing the current federal report are determined. For some time now, the meeting has been held as a video conference under the direction of the BAB and the LFI. It is also planned to take part in various information events (pig conference, winter conference, pig expert conference). The focus here is on in-depth technical knowledge, exchanging ideas and maintaining contacts with experts in the industry.
