News CBS
Fewer farms are going organic, but the acreage is growing.
The area of organic agriculture and horticulture in the Netherlands stagnated last year. Fewer agricultural businesses are also in the process of converting, according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). However, the total number of hectares of organic agricultural land has grown by 2025.
Based on preliminary figures, we already wrote at the end of last year that it percentage of organic farmland had barely grown, from 4,7% in 2024 to 4,8% in 2025. The national target of 15% in 2030 is therefore still miles away.
New figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) show that there are also fewer farms in conversion. With 6.200 hectares of agricultural land in conversion to organic, the number of hectares was 6,4% lower than a year earlier. 4,100 hectares of agricultural land in conversion were added, while 4.4000 hectares in conversion were removed. One-third of the hectares in conversion were also in conversion in 2024. The conversion takes an average of two years. The number of farms in the process of converting also decreased, from 422 in 2024 to 418 farms in 2025.
The number of organic agricultural and horticultural businesses decreased slightly by twelve. In total, there are 1.920 organic businesses. On average, however, the businesses were 6 hectares larger than in 2024.
The number of hectares is growing.
Although the share of organic agricultural land shrank, the number of hectares increased by 2.626 hectares, or 3,1%, to 86.916 hectares. The largest share of organic hectares is grassland, mostly for dairy cattle. In 2025, this amounted to 16.468 hectares. Organic arable farming covered 16.468 hectares. Organic open-field horticulture totaled 3.950 hectares and greenhouse 151 hectares. Most of the growth was in grassland, with 2.286 hectares.
Of all crops, onions are the most organically grown with 1.810 hectares (132 ha more than in 2024). Consumption potatoes follow with 1.686 hectares (+46 ha). Wheat is the next most organically grown crop with 1.394 hectares (+80 ha).
Linda van Eekeres
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
