The objective of this article is to determine the principal causes of the rapid agricultural growth on the European continent between 1950 and 2005. To this end it is essential to calculate the relative contributions made to the growth of agricultural output by the increase in inputs or in total factor productivity (TFP). Our results identify three different models to explain the growth of European agricultural output. That of the Western European countries was principally based on a rapid growth of TFP. The opposing model is that of the Central and Eastern European countries, where heavy capital investment was crucial and the contribution of TFP was slight. Finally, the Mediterranean and Nordic countries are located in an intermediate position, with a contribution of capital higher than in the Western European countries but clearly lower than in the planned economies.