More and more cows in pasture, but they graze for shorter

The share of dairy cows grazing in the meadow has increased again in the Netherlands in the past year. However, the cows spend less time in the meadow each year, because more and more dairy farms are bringing them in for the night. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in its annual overview of Dutch grazing. 

According to the statisticians, the number of dairy farms in the Netherlands that graze outside increased slightly last year to 82,7%. The share of dairy cows that can graze structurally in the meadow has grown by half a percentage point in 2021 to 74,5%. This continues the upward trend, because since 2016 the share of dairy farms that graze outside and the number of dairy cows in the meadow has increased structurally. In 2015, for example, 65% of the dairy cows were out on pasture. In 2021, that was almost 75%, as the CBS illustrates. The share of farms grazing dairy cows increased from 2015% to 2021% between 76 and 83.

Grazing in the Netherlands

Even though relatively more cows are grazing in the meadow, the time they spend outside has become shorter. In 2021, a grazing cow spent an average of 1.300 hours in the meadow, according to Statistics Netherlands, compared to more than 2013 hours in 1.700. Statistics Netherlands explains the decrease in the number of grazing hours with the fact that many cows only walk in the meadow during the day and no longer at night. In 2021 cows were out in the meadow day and night for 14% of the grazing days, in 2013 this was still 23%. A cow that only grazes during the day, gets about 7 hours of grazing. For a cow that is outside day and night, that is 17 hours, according to CBS. According to the organization, the shift from day and night to only daytime has to do with the size of the farm, because larger farms often do not have enough grassland available close to the dairy farm. 

The grazing season has also become shorter, the CBS emphasizes. The grazing season runs from April to October, depending on the weather and the amount of fresh grass available. The number of days of grazing has decreased from an average of 165 days in 2013 to 155 days in 2021

Hours grazing (* no data for 2015)

Differences between provinces
At 83% of the dairy farms in the Netherlands, the cows are in the meadow, but there are differences between provinces. In Utrecht and North and South Holland, between 93% and 97% of the dairy farms use grazing. In Flevoland (47%) and the three southernmost provinces (between 69% and 77%) the share of farms where cows graze in the meadow is the smallest.

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