Which province has the largest dairy farms?

There are a total of 17.910 dairy farms in the Netherlands. Of these, 7.024 dairy farms have more than 100 cows. So that's 39,2%. But in which province do we find the most dairy farms with more than 100 cows? A new Top 5, compiled by CBS, provides the answer. 

Earlier this year came in another top 5 of Boerenbusiness shows that a dairy farm in the Netherlands has an average of 97 cows. The municipalities of Menterwolde and Lelystad even surpassed this by far, with more than 200 cows. Do we also see this reflected in the ranking of the provinces?

Top 5
The province of Flevoland is head and shoulders at the top of the list. In Flevoland 59,7% of the dairy farms have more than 100 cows. This means that of the 286 dairy farms, 171 have more than 100 cows on the farm. 

That is not necessarily striking, because on average in the province of Flevoland there are most cows are held per company. 

The province of Groningen comes in second place. That province has a total of 941 dairy farms. Of these, 488 farms have more than 100 cows. That is a percentage of 51,8%. It may be a coincidence, but it is noteworthy that the number 1 and 2 of this list also the numbers 1 and 2 of the other top 5 . 

The bronze medal is for the province of Friesland. That province has 2.765 dairy farms. Of that total, 1.369 farms have more than 100 cows in the barn. That is a percentage of 49,5%. 

Numbers 4 and 5
The province of Drenthe is right next to the podium. There are 1.070 dairy farms in Drenthe. Of that total number, 524 dairy farms have more than 100 cows on the farm. That's 48,9%. 

The culmination of this top 5 is the province of Zeeland. There are 227 dairy farms in that province. Of these, 105 farms have more than 100 cows. That is a percentage of 46,2%. 

What stands out?
The province of Flevoland may be number 1, but that province certainly does not have the most dairy farms in the province. Most dairy farms can be found in Overijssel. There are 3.175. However, Overijssel is only in ninth place, because the percentage with more than 100 cows is only 33,7%. 

The province of Utrecht is at the bottom of the list. Utrecht has a total of 1.164 dairy farms, but only 280 of them have more than 100 cows. That is a percentage of 24%. 

Provinces with the number of dairy farms with more than 100 cows (2016)

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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