Slaughter pig numbers in the Netherlands were down 7.4% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, as the impact of government buyout schemes takes its toll. Analysis by DCA Market Intelligence, based on data from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO, shows 3,733,125 pigs were slaughtered up to and including week 14. This was around 300,000 fewer animals than in the same period last year and the lowest number since since 2009. The decline has been partly driven by the €1.8 billion Dutch livestock farm termination scheme, under which participating farms were required to cease operations by the end of 2025, which was implemented, particularly near environmentally sensitive Natura 2000 areas, to reduce nitrogen emissions. Although the largest effects of these schemes now appear to have passed, their impact remains visible in slaughter figures this year, the report stated. DCA added that the decrease is also part of a broader downward trend that since 2022. Pig numbers in the ...