The number of cattle and pigs in the Netherlands has fallen further in 2024. This is evident from preliminary figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) published today, based on the December count.
The number of dairy cows has fallen by 31.000 to 1.521.000, or a decrease of almost 2% compared to the same measurement moment a year earlier. The decline has started since 2022. The total number of cattle in the Netherlands was 3.542.000 in December, which represents a decrease of 5,2%. The young cattle population fell quite sharply by 6% to 940.000. The number of veal calves even fell by more than 7% to 858.000.
The number of pigs has decreased by 3% to 10,1 million. The total number of breeding sows shows a large decrease of 8% to 789.000, which will also have an effect on the number of piglets that will be born in the coming months.
Termination arrangements
A further decline in the Dutch cattle and pig population is expected in 2025 due to the implementation of the Lbv and Lbv+ termination schemes.
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