6 out of 7 agricultural companies did not make it

Since 1950, the agricultural landscape has undergone a drastic change. For example, Statistics Netherlands notes that 6 out of 7 farms have not made it. At the same time, there is a more variable trend in the family labor force on farms. Fewer companies resulted in an irrevocable increase in scale. 

In the period 1950 to 2016, 6 out of 7 farms disappeared. It has had an impact on the size of the companies that went ahead. These grew from an average of 5,7 hectares in 1950 to 32,4 hectares in 2016. The acreage of cultivated land fell from 2,3 million hectares to 1,8 million hectares. This means that the acreage of cultivated land decreased less sharply in size than the number of agricultural companies. 

The degree of economies of scale in combination was insufficient to guarantee employment. The number of jobs fell to 172.000, from 580 thousand in 1950. Of those jobs, 480.000 were so-called family workers, just over 100.000 workers were permanent workers. In 1965 only half of it was left, but since then the group has grown again. In 2000, the number returned to 90.000 employees, but in 2016 the number dropped again to 54.000.

It is remarkable that the number of family workers decreased, but fell less rapidly than the number of permanent workers. 'Proportionally, the number even increased.' In addition to a farm head, a family farm has an average of 1,3 family workers. In 1950 this was only 0,2 family workers.   

The growth in the size of the companies is also seen in the livestock sector. For example, the number of cattle rose from 13 in 1950 to 160 in 2016. The average number of goats on the various Dutch farms is also increasing. Due to the Q fever, there was a shortfall for a short time, but in 2005 there were already 4 farms with 1,5 thousand or more dairy goats. In 2016, the number increased again to 43. 

The growth in pig farming is even more striking. For example, the number went from an average of 7 pigs to 1,6 thousand animals in 2016. The number of large farms, more than 7,5 thousand animals, increased from 14 in 2000 to 89 in 2016. However, the total pig herd reached 1997 million in 15. animals a record. After that, the sector rapidly declined in number due to swine fever. In 2004 there were still 11,2 million animals in the Netherlands. The number of laying hens and broilers grew from 33 million laying hens and 2,4 million broilers in 1956 to 46 million laying hens and 48 million broilers.   

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