COMMISSION   DECISIONof 7 June  1985establishing a Community typology for agricultural holdings<(BLK0)LA ORG="CCF">EN</(BLK0)LA>
(85/377/EEC)THE   COMMISSION   OF   THE   EUROPEAN   COMMUNITIES
,Having regard to  the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,Having regard to Council Decision No  79/65/EEC of 15  June 1965 setting up a network for the collection of accountancy data on the  incomes and business operation of agricultural holdings in the European Economic Community  (1), as  last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2143/81  (2).Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No  1463/84 of 24  May 1984 on the organization of the surveys on the structure of agricultural  holdings for 1985 and 1987  (3), and in particular Article 6  (2)thereof,Whereas Commission  Decision 78/463/EEC of 7  April 1978 establishing a Community typology for agricultural holdings   (4), as last amended by Decision 84/542/EEC  (5), defines in Article  1 the two factors on which  the Community typology is based, namely, the type of farming and the economic size of the holding;  whereas these two factors are determined on the basis of the standard gross margin (SGM);Whereas  the standard gross margin as defined in Article 1  (d) of the aforementioned Decision is an  economic criterion, expressed in monetary terms; whereas such a criterion is bound to undergo  changes in the course of time;Whereas the standard gross margins set out in Annex  I to the  aforementioned Decision are based on average values over a reference period; whereas, therefore,  they should regularly be updated to take account of economic trends so that the typology may  continue meaningfully to be applied for the purposes specified in Article  3 of that Decision;  whereas for this purpose a frequency as far as possible linked to the years in which farm  structuresurveys are carried out should be provided for;Whereas such updating should be carried out  on the basis of the average gross margins observed over a reference period of several years;Whereas  the list of characteristics for which gross standard margins are established should be brought into  line with the headings used in the farm structure surveys;Whereas there is a need for the  classification scheme adopted by Decision 78/463/EEC to be amended in order better to take account  of regional circumstances, especially in the Member States which have joined the EEC since that  Decision entered into force, and of the changes made to the list of headings used in the structure  surveys;Whereas, however, the scheme must as far as possible be kept as it is, in order to ensure  sufficient continuity in time and hence permit trend analyses;Whereas the European Size Unit  constitutes a basic unit expressed in terms of monetary value for a given reference period; whereas  this value undergoes changes in the course of time under the influence of changes in the various  factors determining agro-economic trends; whereas, for the European Size Unit to remain totally  meaningful in the context of the Community typology, its definitions should be regularly updated at  the same time as the SGMs are adjusted;Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in  accordance with the opinion of the Community Committee for the Farm Accountancy Data Network of the  EEC and the opinion of the Standing Committee for Agricultural Statistics;
CHAPTER   ICommunity typology for agricultural holdings
For  the purpose of this Decision, 'Community typology for agricultural holdings` (hereinafter called  'typology`) shall mean a uniform classification of holdings in the Community based on their type of  farming and economic size, so arranged that homogeneous groups of holdings can be assembled in a  greater or lesser degree of aggregation.The type of farming and the economic size of the holding  shall be determined on the basis of the standard gross margin.
1. The typology shall be  designed to meet in particular the information needs of the common agricultural policy.2. The  purpose of the typology shall be to supply an instrument making possible, at Community level:- an  analysis of the situation of holdings based on economic criteria;- comparisons of the situation of  holdings- between the various classes in the typology;- between Member States or regions of the  Member States;- between different periods.3. The applications of the typology shall principally  comprise the presentation, by type of farming and by size class, of data collected through the  Community farm structure surveys and the Community Farm Accountancy Data Network.CHAPTER    IIStandard gross margin
For the purpose of this Decision, 'standard gross margin` (SGM)  shall mean the balance between the standard value of production and the standard value of certain  specific costs as laid down in Annex I; this balance shall be determined for the various crop and  livestock characteristics within each region.
The total standard gross margin of the  holding shall correspond to the sum of the values obtained for each characteristic by multiplying  the SGM per unit by the number of corresponding units.
The standard gross margins shall  be determined using average basic data calculated over a reference period of several years. They  shall be updated to take account of economic trends.Annex I lays down the procedures for collecting  the data, the method of calculation and the frequency for determining the SGM.CHAPTER   IIIType of  farming
For the purposes of this Decision the 'type of farming` of a holding shall be  determined by the relative contribution of different enterprises to its total standard gross  margin.
Depending on the amount of detail required, the types of farming shall be divided  into:- general types of farming,- principal types of farming,- particular types of farming,-  subdivisions of certain particular types of farming.These subdivisions shall be optional for those  Member States in which the number of holdings in this type of farming is small.The classification  of holdings by type of farming shall be as set out in Annex II.CHAPTER   IVEconomic size of the  holding
The economic size of the holding shall be determined on the basis of the total  standard gross margin of the holding. It shall be expressed in terms of European Size Units (ESU).  This unit shall be defined in accordance with Annex III   A. The method of calculating the economic  size of the holding shall be as laid down in Annex III   B.
The economic size classes of  holdings shall be as laid down in Annex III C.CHAPTER   VGeneral provisions
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Decision  78/463/EEC shall remain in force for applications relating to the period prior to 1985. Subsequent  applications shall be based on the present Decision.The first such application shall utilize SGMs  corresponding to the reference period '1982` (calendar years 1981, 1982 and 1983 or for the  agricultural production years 1981/82, 1982/83 and 1983/84) established as laid down in Chapter  II.
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The Commission, assisted by the Member States, shall review at least every ten years  the experience gained in applying this Decision and any new Community needs arising in the field.  After such review, the provisions of this Decision may be amended as required.
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This  Decision is addressed to the Member States.