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Abstract
With the break-down of the socialist regime in East Germany in 1989/90 the
collective farms had to be transformed or to be dissolved. At that time, it had
been anticipated by (mostly West German) politicians and agricultural
economists alike that collective farms would soon wither away and be
replaced by family farms. However, even more than 15 years after transition,
transformed agricultural production cooperatives (APCs) and other corporate
farms dominate agricultural production. Based on literature review, statistics
and an empirical survey among farm managers, the major reasons for their
popularity will be analyzed. These seem to be not only economic, but also
social ones. Finally, their future development will be looked at. Their
number is gradually declining over time which might be called a “second
wave of transformation”.