In 2019, there were 50,038 farms registered in Switzerland, which is 1.6% fewer than in 2018. In the long term, this trend shows how the Swiss agricultural industry is in a constant state of flux. Almost one-third of farms have disappeared over 20 years and the utilised agricultural area has shrunk by 2.6%. At the same time, however, farms have grown in size due to mergers. As a result, the proportion of farms with an area of over 20 hectares amounted to 43% in 2019, as opposed to only 25% in 1999. More and more farms are turning to organic farming. In 2019, 7,284 farms operated in accordance with organic guidelines, which is 3.6% more than in 2018. 150,100 people were employed on farms in 2019, which marks a decline of 1.5% in comparison with the previous year. 12% of these were foreign nationals. A large proportion (55%) of the workforce was part-time and more than three-quarters were family members.
Definition of farm
1 hectare of utilised agricultural area or 30 ares of special crops or 10 ares of protected crops or 8 sows or 80 fattening pigs or a pig shed to house 80 fattening pigs or 300 poul-try units.