Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic

      Since 2002 the Czech Statistical Office has harmonized statistical surveys according to laws, regulations and recommendations in force for the EU Member States. The data are mostly sample surveyed. The sample of respondents is based on the updated Agro-register, and the results are grossed up by statistical mathematical methods. 100% structural surveys, which cover all active agricultural units, are conducted at longer time intervals in the framework of Agrocensuses. Since the year above, all the data have only been measured and grossed up for the agricultural sector and do not include own-account production of the population.

      The basic unit for records in the area of agricultural statistics is the agricultural holding, which carries out the activities classified to CZ-NACE subsections 01 (Agriculture, Hunting and Related Service Activities) and 05 (Fishing, Fish Farming and Related Service Activities) and defined by threshold values, namely by the agricultural land area of 1 hectare and over and by the following supplementary minimum criteria: 1 500 m² of grown intensive crops (fruit, flowers, vegetables grown in the open), 1 000 m² of vineyards, 300 m² of area under cover, 1 head of cattle, 2 pigs, 4 sheep and goats, 50 heads of poultry, 100 rabbits or fur animals, and all holdings engaged in fish farming in water bodies. Meeting at least one of the criteria is sufficient for incorporating the units into the agricultural sector.

      The questionnaire on areas, yields and production of agricultural crops, used in the statistical survey on crop production, is redesigned in compliance with requirements of international organisations. The crops are reporting net, without mixtures.

      Figures on hunting (CZ-NACE 01.5: Hunting, Trapping and Game Propagation Including Related Service Activities) are presented in chapter 15. Forestry, as they are more tied with this activity and due to the intention to maintain continuity with the yearbooks published before.

Notes on tables

Tables 14-1 to 14-4. Economic accounts for agriculture

      The economic accounts for agriculture (EAA) are a fundamental instrument to measure the economic size and efficiency of agriculture or agricultural primary production within the national economy. They include several basic aggregates:

      output of the agricultural industry - the sum of agricultural products and services produced by units operating in agriculture plus secondary inseparable activities,

      intermediate consumption - measures own goods, goods for resale and services consumed in the production process (excluding the use of fixed assets) and is one of the key indicators of the production intensity of agriculture,

      gross value added - indicates the resulting effect of agriculture as measured by the difference between output and intermediate consumption. It is used to assess the efficiency of agriculture within the national economy,

      net value added - the value produced by all agricultural units, obtained by subtracting fixed capital consumption from gross value added.

      The economic accounts for agriculture exclude units producing solely for their own consumption (kitchen gardens and private livestock raising). However, they include agricultural output for own consumption of farmers whose holdings are larger than the minimum size (lower threshold).

      Pursuant to new methodology, the output is valued at basic prices - i.e. by the amount received by the producer from the buyer for a unit of goods or services produced by the producer, minus taxes on products plus subsidies on products.

      The intermediate consumption is valued at acquisition prices of similar goods or services in force when they are entering the production process. The prices include all taxes on products minus subsidies on products and exclude deductible taxes such as VAT.

Tables 14-5 and 14-6. Land use

      All agricultural and non-agricultural land is measured by summing up figures on areas designed for crops, as they are recorded in the real estate register kept by the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre as at 31 December.

      Agricultural land comprises arable land, hop-gardens, vineyards, gardens, orchards, and permanent grassland.

      Classified to non-agricultural land are forestland, ponds, lakes and other water surface areas, as well as built-up and other areas.

      All the figures on land are measured as crop areas of agricultural holdings and non-agricultural establishments or of private owners, no distinction being made as to the land size and the type of holder.

Table 14-7. Areas under farm crops

      Areas under crops measured by censuses taken as at 31 May include spring production areas (i.e., arable land areas; areas under crops in orchards and gardens, and areas of meadows and pastures temporarily ploughed and used for sowing) which are to be harvested in the reference period. They include:

a)      areas under winter crops, sown in the autumn of the previous year and maintained until the spring sowing in the reference period is over (i.e. until the areas-under-crops census);

b)      areas under spring crops, sown in the spring of the reference year;

c)      areas under perennial crops, sown in past years and maintained until the sowing in the reference period is over (i.e. until the areas-under-crops census).

      The total area under crops does not include arable land areas not sown or planted. These areas are given in the separate item “Set-aside arable land” which refers to fallow land and all arable land not sown or planted for one reason or another, including temporarily excluded or not farmed land in the reference year (i.e. until the areas-under-crops census). Unlike Tables 14-5 and 14-6 “Land use”, the agricultural land and arable land given in Table 14-7 includes land farmed in the agricultural sector only - i.e. it excludes land used by the population and land not used for agriculture.

Tables 14-8 to 14-11. Main farm crops harvested and yields per hectare

      The tables list data obtained through the questionnaire on final harvests of farm crops related to the end of year.

      Yield per hectare is the ratio of harvest to production area.

      Harvest is the total quantity of a crop harvested at standard moisture content and standard purity, including inferior portions of the crop that can be used for feeing livestock (grain waste, small discarded potatoes, etc.) and excluding seed crops and crop planting stock.

      Before 2002, production area refers to the area from which the crop measured was actually harvested. It can be smaller than area under crops, if such crop is destroyed or ploughed-in in the sowing-to-farming period or is not harvested. It can be larger than area under crops, if used to grow another crop, too (e.g. if part of an area under green maize is grain harvested). Since 2002, the production area has been equal to area under crops (except for grain maize, green and silage maize and permanent grassland).

Table 14-15. Fruit trees and bushes, harvest of fruit

      Numbers of fruit trees and bushes are obtained from processed questionnaires on final harvests as at the end of year.

      Harvest of individual fruits from fruit trees and bushes is sample surveyed as at the end of year, using questionnaires on final harvests of agricultural crops, and the data obtained are grossed up by mathematical statistical methods.

Table 14-17. Production of chosen products in the households of population

      The table gives an overview of the agricultural output in the self-supply area, implemented outside the agricultural sector in the households of population. It is compiled from expert estimates of the results obtained for own-account production in the households included in the reporting sample of household budgets statistics and from annual data provided by a harvest and animal production survey.

Tables 14-18 to 14-22. Livestock and livestock farming intensity

      Livestock population is derived from livestock censuses conducted as at 1 April of the following year (before 2002, as at 1 March of the following year).

      Cows are breeding dams calved at least ones, both mated and non-mated.

      Sows are breeding dams farrowed at least once (excluding sows discarded from breeding), both mated and non-mated.

      Poultry includes hens and cocks, geese and ganders, ducks and drakes, turkey hens and cocks (including young ones).

      Livestock unit is an agreed unit into which each livestock individual is converted by means of factors set as follows: cattle up to 1 year of age: 0.4, fattening cattle over 1 year old: 1.2, other cattle over 1 year old: 1.0, sows: 0.3, other pigs: 0.2, sheep: 0.14, goats: 0.1, horses: 1.0, and poultry: 0.004.

Table 14-24 and 14-25. Livestock production and yields

      Cattle and pigs production - includes all sales of cattle, calves and pigs for slaughter in terms of live weight (the number of pigs includes estimates for home slaughtering).

      Poultry production - includes all sales plus in-house consumption of poultry for slaughter in terms of live weight.

      Numbers of born and weaned calves or piglets - the difference between young animals born and lost by death: calves up to three months of age and piglets till weaned. The numbers of born and weaned calves per 100 cows or piglets per 1 sow are related to the average population of cows or sows.

      Death loss of calves or piglets - given in percentage and calculated from the number of animals born. Included in the death loss of the animals are also discarded animals.

      Milk production - includes milk both drawn from the cow for further treatment and sucked by unweaned calves. Average milk yield - the quantity of milk produced over 1 year and falling on 1 cow in milk (including dry cows).

      Average egg-laying - the quantity of eggs laid by 1 hen (not per 1 laying hen only) per 1 year.

Tables 14-26 and 14-29. Meat production in terms of carcass weight and average slaughter weight

      Meat production in terms of carcass weight includes data from all abattoirs in the Czech Republic. Inevitable slaughters are counted in the carcass weight providing the meat is used for human consumption. Average carcass weight of pigs excludes sows and boars.

Table 14-30. Sales of main agricultural products: totals

      Total sales of main agricultural products include all sales by primary producers from their own harvest to trading and processing companies, other sales (including products for in-house processing) and direct exports. Total sales of crop products exclude sales by small growers and gardeners. The figures on total sales of crop and animal products cover the period of a calendar year.

      Sales of livestock for slaughter include cattle, calves, pigs, sheep, goats, and poultry in terms of live weight. The figures on sales of eggs only include eggs for consumption (hatching eggs are excluded).

Table 14-32. Consumption of fertilizers

      The consumption of fertilizers is given in terms of net nutrients contained in oxides, except for nitrogen. Agricultural production year includes consumption from 1 July of previous year to 30 June of current year. Due to the way of measuring, the figures exclude consumption of fertilizers by holdings of self-employed farmers.

      Consumption per ha refers to farmed (not fertilized) land. The time series includes conversion to 1 ha so that figures on individual years can be compared.

Table 14-33. Consumption of plant protection active substances

      The figures on the consumption of plant protection active substances, which were collected from records of agricultural holdings over 10 ha in acreage, are provided by the State Phytosanitary Administration in Prague.

Tables 14-34 and 14-35. Active entities in agriculture

      The table shows the number of active agricultural entities identified by the Structural survey in agriculture taken as at 30 September 2003 in comparison with the results of Agrocensus 2000. It includes all legal and natural persons farming at least 1 ha of agricultural land, own or leased, or 1 500 m² of area under intensive crops (fruit, vegetables, flowers), 1 000 m² of vineyards, 300 m² of area under cover or raising at least 1 head of cattle, 2 pigs, 4 sheep and goats, 50 heads of poultry, 100 rabbits or fur animals, and all holdings engaged in fish farming in water bodies irrespective of their surface area.

Table 14-36. Workers in agriculture by age group

      The table shows the number of workers in main employment, broken down by age group, in comparison with results obtained by the Structural survey in agriculture in 2003 and Agrocensus 2000. The worker in main employment in agriculture is a person whose work in an agricultural holding is the only or main activity and who can be assumed to be engaged in agriculture all the year round.

Table 14-37. Machinery and equipment in agriculture

      The comparison of the numbers of machines and pieces of equipment is based on results obtained by the Structural survey in agriculture in 2003 and Agrocensus 2000. The table lists the means of mechanisation of agricultural holdings irrespective of their technical condition and operability. The figures on tractors refer to four-wheel vehicles. The soil-processing machines include all types of machines for loosening and pre-sowing preparation of soil.

- “Economic Accounts for Agriculture for 2002 and 2003” (Czech-English version) - September 2004
- „Definitivní údaje o sklizni zemědělských plodin za rok 2003“ - January 2004
- „Soupis hospodářských zvířat k 1. 4. 2004“ - May 2004
- „Soupis ploch osevů k 31. 5. 2004“ - July 2004
- „Výsledky chovu drůbeže“ - quarterly, on the 38th day following the end of quarter
- „Výsledky chovu skotu“ - August 2004, February 2005
- „Výsledky chovu prasat“ - September 2004, February 2005
- „Prodej rostlinných výrobků“ - quarterly, on the 40th calendar day following the end of quarter
- „Měsíční přehled o porážkách hospodářských zvířat“ - on the 35th calendar day
- „Operativní zprávy o prognóze sklizní“ - monthly, July to November 2004