The milk market in the European Union (EU) is adjusting rapidly to the removal of dairy quotas. The most important changes include increased milk yield per cow, increased total milk production, decreased number of cows, and the decreased milk consumption. The main aim of the paper is to examine the milk production changes in the EU. We investigated the dynamics of changes in farm milk production during the period from 1998–2017 in the EU. Moreover, we investigated the impact of the removal of quotas on the production of milk on farms in the EU countries for the period from 2015–2017. Milk production in the EU increased from 151 million tons in 1998 to 165 million tons in 2017 (a 10% increase). A multi-variate regression model was to test which explanatory variables have an impact on milk production in the EU. The most important factors were a gross domestic product, final household consumption expenditure (current prices, million euro), and population (number).
The paper’s main purpose was to identify and present the current situation and changes in energy consumption in agriculture in the European Union (EU) countries. The specific objectives were the determination of the degree of concentration of energy consumption in agriculture in the EU countries, showing the directions of their changes, types of energy used, and changes in this respect, establishing the correlation between energy consumption and changes in the economic and agricultural situation in the EU countries. All member states of the European Union were deliberately selected for research on 31 December 2018 (28 countries). The research period covered the years 2005–2018. The sources of materials were the literature on the subject, and data from Eurostat. Descriptive, tabular, and graphical methods were used to analyze and present materials, dynamics indicators with a stable base, Gini concentration coefficient, concentration analysis using the Lorenz curve, coefficient of variation, Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. A high concentration of energy consumption in agriculture was found in several EU countries, the largest in countries with the largest agricultural sector, i.e., France and Poland. There were practically no changes in the concentration level. Only in the case of renewable energy, a gradual decrease in concentration was visible. More and more countries developed technologies that allow the use of this type of energy. However, the EU countries differed in terms of the structure of the energy sources used. The majority of the basis was liquid fuels, while stable and gaseous fuels were abandoned in favor of electricity and renewable sources—according to which, in the EU countries, the research hypothesis was confirmed: a gradual diversification of energy sources used in agriculture, with a systematic increase in the importance of renewable energy sources. The second research hypothesis was also confirmed, according to which the increase in the consumption of renewable energy in agriculture is closely related to the economy’s parameters. The use of renewable energy is necessary and results from concern for the natural environment. Therefore, economic factors may have a smaller impact.
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