What do women farm most with?

There are 51.603 agricultural companies in the Netherlands. At more than 32.000 of those companies, female family members actively help. But in which municipality do the most women farm on the farm? A new top 5 of Boerenbusiness, compiled by CBS, provides the answer.

As mentioned above, female relatives also work on more than 32.000 agricultural companies. In total this concerns 37.780 women. This shows that on a large part of the agricultural companies in the Netherlands more than 1 female family member is involved.

Who takes the stage?
At the top of the list is the municipality of Berkelland (Gelderland). In that municipality we find 698 agricultural companies. Female family members are involved in 478 of these agricultural businesses. And on most of those farms more than 1 family member works, because a total of 573 women work on the agricultural companies in Berkelland. 

In second place comes the municipality of Noordoostpolder (Flevoland). The municipality has a total of 793 agricultural companies. That is considerably more than in the municipality of Berkelland, which are at the top of the list. However, in total there are 'only' 565 women working on the farm.

The winner of the bronze medal is the municipality of Sùdwest-Fryslân (Friesland). There are 701 agricultural companies in that municipality. Female family members work on the farm on 461 of those farms. In total there are 509 women who help out on the farm. 

Just next to the stage
The municipality of Hardenberg (Overijssel) comes in fourth place. In that municipality we find 640 agricultural companies. Female family members are involved in 432 of those companies. A total of 498 women work on the farm. 

The municipality of Ede (Gelderland) is in fifth place. There are 691 farms there. In 423 of those companies, women work on the company. In total, 456 women work on the agricultural business in the municipality of Ede.

Who is at the bottom of the list?
The list ends with the municipality of Doesburg (Gelderland). In this small municipality we find 12 agricultural companies. Female family members also work at 4 of these companies. In total there are 4 women. That means that on those 4 companies 1 female family member helps. 

Above this are the municipalities of Blaricum, Leiderdorp and Kerkrade. These municipalities have approximately 11 agricultural companies in the municipality. In these municipalities, a maximum of 5 female family members help on the farm.

How many hours do they farm?
In this context, it is unclear how many hours the female family members work on the farm. In a new top 5 we will soon answer the question: where do the female relatives farm for at least 20 hours?

Number of companies with assisting female relatives

* The table is based on the results of the 2016 Agricultural Census. It concerns the assisting women aged 16 and older. Assisting relatives are family members in the first or second degree in relation to the head of the farm.

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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