Austria is a predominantly mountainous country in the middle of Europe, where in general high nature value farming, clean environment and rich cultural and natural heritage prevail. Austrian agriculture is small structured, mainly family based and is linked to forestry.
The landscape in Austria is characterized by the high proportion of less-favoured areas (LFA), most of which is classified as mountain area. The Austrian mountain area forms part of two of Europe’s mountain massifs, the Alps and the Bohemian massif. The mountain area comprises 70 percent of Austrian territory and 50 percent of the Utilized Agricultural Area (UAA). The area of permanent settlement in the mountain area is very limited. Alpine pastures are very important in the mountain areas. Mountain farms are also of great importance for forest protection.
