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This paper sets out to analyse the impact of milk quotas had on the dairy farm structure of the Netherlands. In addition projections on the likely farm structure under different milk quota scenarios are explored. Moreover mobility indicators characterizing structural change are developed and calculated. A Markov probability model is estimated relying on a generalized cross entropy approach. The introduction of milk quotas as of April 1, 1984 froze the dairy farm structural adjustment, at least initially. However, later on mobility started to increase, which is likely to reflect the quota tradability and lease possibilities. Moreover there is evidence that the milk quota regime has increased concentration of dairy production among farms with 50-69 cows. If after quota abolition the dairy farm structural dynamics would be the same as in the 1972-83 period, then quota abolition in 2015 will lead to a substantial increase in the number of farms in 2022 as compared to the current status quo.

With the milk quota announced to be abolished in the future, the dairy sector is going to face a significant policy regime shift. This paper sets out to analyze the impact of milk quotas on the dairy farm structure of two important milk producing member states : Germany and the Netherlands. Based on proper behavioral assumptions, non stationary Markov chain models are specified and estimated using a generalized cross entropy procedure, which takes into account both sample and prior information. Moreover four mobility indicators characterizing structural change are developed and calculated. Structural change in the dairy sector as measured by the mobility measures is faster in West Germany than in the Netherlands. However, in the transition region East Germany structural change outpaces that of the traditional German and Dutch dairy sectors by a factor two or more. The introduction of milk quotas as of April 1, 1984 reduced overall farm mobility for the Netherlands, but increased mobility in West Germany. However, in both cases the milk quotas lead to an increase in upward mobility.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the dairy farm structure of Poland during the post-socialist period. First the paper focuses on how the farm structure has changed over time and what path it is likely to follow in the coming decade. Second, it is tested whether the evolution of farm size is explained by non-stationary effects. Finally, several statistical indicators are computed on farm mobility and on which farms are likely to survive. An instrumental variable generalised cross entropy Markov chain approach which incorporates prior information is applied for estimation. Prior information included general and plausible information on farm mobility and structural adjustments based on independent literature. The projections show that dairy farm numbers will continue to decline, although accompanied by an increase in the number of medium-sized and large farms. Subsistence dairy farms are expected to slowly leave the sector in the coming decade.