AgricultureID

Land · DE-MV

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern lies in the transition from oceanic to continental climate on the Baltic coast, with relatively low rainfall by German standards, cold winters inland and a moderate but reliable growing season on the glacial soils of the young moraine landscape.

Major crop systems

  • Winter wheat as the dominant crop on the fertile moraine soils
  • Winter rapeseed, grown on a large scale as the leading oilseed
  • Winter barley and rye
  • Sugar beet on the better soils
  • Grain maize and pulses on lighter and rotational land

Major livestock systems

  • Dairy and beef cattle, often in large herds, on grassland and forage areas
  • Pig fattening on some larger enterprises
  • Extensive grazing and forage on coastal and lowland pastures

Agricultural land: The Land is characterised by large, contiguous fields on the fertile boulder-clay soils of the ground-moraine plains, farmed by comparatively large enterprises that reflect the legacy of former collective and state farms in eastern Germany. Irrigation: Farming is almost entirely rainfed; the relatively dry Baltic climate and light soils create localised drought risk, but large-scale irrigation infrastructure is limited.

Agroecological zones: Cfb (Oceanic (marine west coast)), Dfb (Warm-summer humid continental)

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Ministerium für Klimaschutz, Landwirtschaft, ländliche Räume und Umwelt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern — State Ministry for Climate Protection, Agriculture, Rural Areas and the Environment.
  • Thünen Institute — Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
  • Destatis — Federal Statistical Office of Germany; publishes agricultural statistics with the Land statistical offices.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are published by the State Statistical Office and Destatis and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Regional boundaries and the classification of agricultural land follow the official ISO 3166-2 subdivision and national statistical definitions.
  • Any statistics are dated and source-specific; consult the year and dataset version at the cited official body rather than treating figures as current.
  • Farm sizes here are among the largest in Germany, reflecting the post-1990 transition of former collective and state farms, so structural indicators differ sharply from the smaller-farm west and south.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]European Commission — Agriculture and rural development (opens in a new tab)

    European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture

    Authoritative

    Cited for: EU Common Agricultural Policy framework and Eurostat regional farm statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    European Union
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Global crop and livestock production context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12