AgricultureID

Voivodeship · PL-30

Greater Poland

Greater Poland, in the west-central lowlands around Poznań, has one of the mildest and driest climates in the country, with a relatively long growing season but low rainfall that makes it comparatively drought-prone.

Major crop systems

  • Cereals — wheat, triticale, barley and rye — as the backbone of the arable rotation
  • Sugar beet on the better soils, supporting a strong processing sector
  • Potatoes, including for starch and feed
  • Grain and silage maize and oilseed rape
  • Forage crops linked to the intensive livestock sector

Major livestock systems

  • Pigs — Greater Poland holds Poland’s largest pig herd and is the centre of national pig production
  • Dairy and beef cattle on mixed farms
  • Poultry for meat and eggs

Agricultural land: The gently rolling glacial plain carries a high share of arable land, farmed by relatively large and well-capitalised holdings, making Greater Poland one of the country’s most productive and intensively cropped agricultural regions. Irrigation: Cropping is predominantly rainfed, and the region’s low rainfall and falling groundwater levels make it one of the more drought-exposed parts of Poland, raising interest in water retention rather than large-scale irrigation.

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

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Wielkopolski Ośrodek Doradztwa Rolniczego (WODR) — Greater Poland Agricultural Advisory Centre, Poznań.
  • GUS (Główny Urząd Statystyczny) — Statistics Poland — the central statistical office.
  • IUNG-PIB — Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, Puławy (national research institute).

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Greater Poland are published by Statistics Poland (GUS) and its regional office 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.
  • The concentration of pig production creates localised nutrient-management pressures, and low rainfall makes yields sensitive to drought years rather than being stable from season to season.

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