Swiss Agriculture is Ageing – What Does This Mean for the Future?

Farm managers are getting older and older on average. Although this trend poses challenges for the Swiss agricultural sector, it also offers opportunities.

Over the next five years in Switzerland, around 7000 farm managers will reach the upper age limit of 65 for drawing direct payments. This corresponds to 17% of all family farms. The large number of impending farm handovers or exits can stimulate structural change, offering both challenges and opportunities.

This study examined the demographic change trends in the Swiss agricultural sector in greater depth. For this, various aspects were analysed: farmers’ age at farm handover; the age of new and exiting farmers; and the entry and exit rates for family farms. The study is based on direct-payment data from the years 2004 to 2020.

Farms are handed over at a later age

One key finding is that the rising average age of farm managers is due primarily to the fact that they are handing over or giving up their farms at a later and later age. In addition to this, a growing share of the managers of family farms are giving up farming whilst the share of new entrants is falling. A further peculiarity is that the farm is often transferred to someone just a few years younger, presumably the manager’s female partner. These trends all contribute to the phenomenon of ageing.

The mountain region has the youngest farm managers

The ageing is evident in the ratio of older to younger farm managers. This key figure increased sharply from 2004 to 2020. Whereas in 2004 there were 1.8 older farm managers between the ages of 56 to 65 for every farm manager under the age of 35, by 2020 the ratio had increased to 2.7 to 1. There are differences between regions and farm types in Switzerland in this regard. The mountain region has the youngest farm managers, whilst ‘arable crops’ and ‘special crops’ farms have the oldest farm managers. This also explains the high average age of farmers in the plain region, where these types of farms are common.

Opportunity for farm growth and transformation

With increasing competition for labour and farm successors, agriculture must be and remain an attractive option. Digitalisation offers agriculture opportunities for boosting work productivity, and can simultaneously increase the sector’s appeal to skilled labour and potential farm successors. The land of exiting farmers offers existing farms opportunities for growth. Younger farm managers more often participate in environmental and animal welfare programmes. Agricultural policy-makers could make use of this fact to give targeted support to farms in the process of handover to ensure a sustainable transformation.

The findings are relevant for shaping agricultural policy in Switzerland. They point to the current opportunity to make targeted use of generational change in agriculture to support the transition to a more sustainable agriculture and food system via measures such as extension and funding programmes.