Organic farming in figures

Farms and areas

As of 2024, there were 23,942 organic farms in Austria - 495 fewer than in 2023. The number of organic farms decreased slightly in all federal states. The largest declines occurred in Vienna (-10.4 percent), Carinthia (-5.0 percent), followed by Burgenland (-3.9 percent), Vorarlberg (-3.8 percent), Styria (-2.6 percent), Salzburg (-1.8 percent), Upper Austria (-1.5 percent), and Lower Austria (-1.3 percent). In Tyrol, the number of organic farms remained approximately stable compared to 2023.

In 2024, the organically farmed agricultural area in Austria amounts to around 697,500 hectares, which is 4,100 hectares less than in 2023, corresponding to a decrease of 0.7 percent. By type of cultivation, there is an increase in arable land (+0.7 percent) and vineyards (+2.0 percent), while there is a slight decrease in orchards (-0.9 percent) and permanent grassland (-1.7 percent)

The most important arable crops

The development of field crops on organic arable land shows a significant increase in grain legumes (particularly lentils, fava beans, and dry peas) and root crops (sugar beets and potatoes). Among oil crops, there was again an increase in area, especially for oil pumpkin, following the sharp decline in the previous year. Soybeans also recorded a slight increase. Likewise, there was a slight expansion in the area used for field forage production. Organic fallow land increased by over 10 percent compared to the previous year. Declines in area were observed for bread and feed cereals, particularly for winter wheat and grain maize.

Organically raised livestock

In general, a decline in organic livestock can be observed in 2024. The decrease amounted to 1.5 percent for organic cattle, 7.7 percent for organic pigs, 1.7 percent for organic horses, and 2.1 percent for organic goats (each measured by number of animals). Sheep remained stable compared to 2023. In total, poultry saw a slight increase of 0.3 percent. This small increase was due to the rise in broiler chickens. In all other poultry categories, there were declines compared to the previous year.

Shares of organic areas, organic farms, and organic livestock

The share of organic farms among all INVEKOS farms in 2024 amounts to 23.1 percent. In 2024, 27.3 percent of the agricultural land in use according to INVEKOS is organically farmed. The share is 22.3 percent for arable land and around one third for permanent grassland. Already one quarter of vineyards in Austria are farmed organically, and the organic share has doubled here over the past 10 years. Around 37 percent of orchard areas are organic, although a decline in the organic share has been observed again over the past two years.

In Austria, 22.5 percent of dairy cows are kept on organic farms, while the figure for suckler cows is 44 percent. While only 3.8 percent of pigs are kept organically, the share is 26 percent for sheep and almost 50 percent for goats. Poultry also shows a wide range: while 61 percent of ducks are fed on organic farms, turkeys reach only a 12 percent organic share. For broiler chickens, the figure is 31 percent, with some federal states (Carinthia, Salzburg, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg) showing an organic share of over 50 percent.

For more information, please see the Green Report (“Grüner Bericht”). (in German only)