Netherlands: Hardly fewer dairy cows, but fewer pigs in 2022

There are no major differences in the herd of 2022. The number of dairy cows in the Netherlands has remained virtually the same in 2022 at 1.57 million. Compared to five years ago, the number was 7 percent lower. The number of pigs decreased slightly again last year, while the size of the goat herd increased slightly. This is evident from the final figures of the 2022 Agricultural Census of Statistics Netherlands. On 1 April 2022, the Netherlands had 3.8 million cattle, 0.4 percent more than a year earlier. Compared to 2017, there were 6 percent fewer cattle. Last year, 41 percent of the number of cattle consisted of dairy cows, just like in 2021. The municipalities of Sûdwest-Fryslân and De Fryske Marren had the most dairy cows in 2022, 65.6 thousand and 35.5 thousand respectively. Young cattle for dairy farming increased last year by 1.6 percent to 982 thousand. In 2017, the phosphate reduction plan for Dutch dairy farming came into effect. Companies had to get rid of dairy ...