Rentabilität und Lebensqualität auf Bio-Milchviehbetrieben: ein Paradoxon?

Summary

This study examines a possible relationship between the economic key data of dairy farms and the family members’ subjective assessment of their perceived quality of life. Seven organic dairy farms were evaluated as part of the on-going project, “Integrative assessment of ecological, economic and social-ethic characteristics of sustainability of agricultural production systems in dairy farming”. Total costs, entrepreneurial profit and return on labour were chosen as key data for rentability. Job satisfaction, wealth in time and health were selected to describe the quality of life. The results confirm that bigger farms with more dairy cows operate more cost efficiently, but the farm with the most dairy cows was not the most successful economically. It was not possible to determine if larger, more economically successful farms also enjoy a higher quality of life due to the small sample size. However, correlations were found between the key data for rentability and wealth in time which warrant further study in future projects.