When Coen van den Bighelaar first discussed taking over family dairy farms with his school friends, he was the only one who had serious reservations. Fresh from university, he was earning more in a comfortable office job than his father, who worked longer hours on the farm.
However, six years on, Bighelaar has followed in his parents’ footsteps, while his friends’ interest has dwindled. One moved into logistics, another added a daycare business to boost milk sales, and a third is contemplating a move to Canada to buy land.
Bighelaar, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in the Netherlands, describes the situation as challenging, with many young farmers giving up due to limited opportunities.
Small and medium-sized farms across Europe close each year, unable to compete with large-scale producers that sell food at lower prices, impacting the livelihood of many small farmers and forcing some to either quit or find additional income sources.
In Poland, Małgorzata Maj runs a guesthouse on her family’s 20-hectare sheep farm, as sheep sales alone don’t provide a livable income.
Although farm incomes in Europe are on the rise, the gap between large and small farms also grows, with economies of scale and technological advancements favoring larger farms, which can afford costly equipment, allowing them to reduce costs per unit.
Maj says survival in agriculture would require hundreds of hectares and a large flock of sheep to achieve a stable income, recalling the struggles her parents faced raising seven children.
For small farmers, expanding or modernizing is an uphill task, often hindered by access to loans necessary for competing with large-scale operations. Carlos Franco, a blueberry farmer near Lisbon, explains that banks hesitate to lend to farmers lacking assets to use as collateral.
Franco, originally from the city, reminisces about his grandfather’s farm, which inspired him to start his farm eight years ago. He expects to break even for the first time this year, noting that a larger initial loan might have enabled quicker progress.
Larger farms have more capital and are often diversified, making them less vulnerable to market fluctuations. They benefit from economies of scale and can spread costs, says Franco.
At the start of the year, discontent among small farmers led to protests as industry advocates opposed environmental measures, claiming only large farms could afford them. Environmental groups argue that big farms leveraged support for small farms to reject eco-friendly rules.
Bighelaar, who helps run his parents’ 60-hectare dairy farm, acknowledges that while complying with environmental regulations is important, the associated expenses disproportionately affect smaller farms.
In September, representatives across the food industry called for reforms to the EU’s farm subsidy program, suggesting aid tailored to farmers’ needs and a fund to support the transition to sustainable practices.
Airi Kylvet, an organic beef farmer in Estonia, has invested in farming knowledge over costly machinery. Yet, she finds the administrative demands overwhelming, with multiple agencies overseeing different areas of her work.
Despite the challenging regulations, farmers also face concerns about increasingly extreme weather. Maj experienced severe rains that damaged her land, while Franco’s blueberry crops have suffered from excessive heat.
Even with these challenges, Franco finds joy in farming’s daily rhythms, noting that, as a saying goes in Portugal, agriculture can make one “poor but happy.”
