CBS: Livestock numbers barely changed

The cattle population in 2022 remained virtually unchanged from a year earlier at 3.8 million cattle. The number of dairy goats rose slightly to almost 489 thousand. The pig population decreased by 1.6 per cent to 11.3 million. The number of chickens also decreased by 2.3 per cent to 98 million. This is according to provisional figures from CBS' Agricultural Census 2022.

On 1 April 2022, there were 13.7 thousand (0.4 per cent) more cattle than a year earlier. There were 1.57 million dairy cows registered this year, the same number as last year. In contrast, young cattle for dairy farming increased by 1.6 per cent last year to 982 thousand. The number of veal calves fell by 0.4 per cent to over 1 million animals.

More land on average on dairy farms

Dairy farms occupy 45 per cent of the total area of cultivated land in the Netherlands. In 2022, a dairy farm had an average of 60 hectares of cultivated land. This is 12 hectares more than a decade earlier. More cows were also kept. This year, a dairy farm had an average of 110 dairy cows and 58 female young stock, compared to 83 and 57 respectively in 2012.

In 2022, a dairy farm had an average of 1.84 dairy cows and 0.97 female young cattle per hectare of arable land. Ten years earlier, they were 1.72 and 1.19 respectively.

Increase in scale in dairy goat sector continues

Economies of scale also increased in the dairy goat sector. The average number of dairy goats per farm rose from 495 to 735 in ten years. In 2012, there were 223 farms with 500 or more dairy goats. Ten years later, this had increased by half to 330.

In 2022, the Netherlands had 489 thousand dairy goats, over 1 per cent more than the year before. More than half of the number of dairy goats are kept in North Brabant (137 thousand) and Gelderland (117 thousand).

Decline in pig population

In 2022, there were 11.3 million pigs in the Netherlands, the lowest number in almost two decades. The number of pigs was over 12 million for years, from 2020 it declined to just below. The number of farms with pigs had decreased by 45 per cent to 3,273 compared to 10 years earlier.

The decline in the number of pigs and pig farms is partly due to the cessation scheme Action Plan Ammonia Livestock Farming and the Pig Rehabilitation Subsidy Scheme (SRV).

Fewer chickens

The number of chickens fell by 2.3 per cent to 98 million in 2022 compared to a year earlier. The total number of chickens has been hovering around 100 million for years.

These chickens are kept on fewer and fewer farms. In 2022, there were 1 711 farms with chickens, 20 per cent less than a decade earlier. 

Cbs.nl