Where are most organic farmers?

In 2017, the Netherlands had about 1.604 organic farms. In 2016 there were still 1.442. But in which province is the number of organic farms highest? Statistics from Statistics Netherlands provide the answer.

The number of organic cattle farms in 2017 was 644. In contrast, there are 563 organic arable farms and 154 organic pig farms. Compared to 2016, all these sectors increased.

Who is on top?
Gelderland is at the top of the list. The number of organic farms in this province amounted to 2017 in 321. This is subdivided into 95 arable farms, 94 organic cattle farms and 53 pig farms. In 2016, the number of organic farms still stood at 287. At that time, there were 89 arable farms, 88 cattle farms and 41 organic pig farms.

Flevoland is in second place. The number of organic farms here came to 195; 153 organic arable farms, 25 cattle farms and 4 pig farms. In 2016, these numbers were lower, when the number of organic farms amounted to 171. This involved 140 organic arable farms, 21 cattle farms and 2 pig farms.

The bronze medal is for Overijssel. The number of organic farms there came to 161. These include 44 organic arable farms, 81 cattle farms and 31 pig farms. In 2016, the number of organic farms still amounted to 140. Of these, 43 arable farms, 68 cattle farms and 22 pig farms were organic.

The fourth place is for North Brabant. The number of organic farms in 2017 amounted to 159. This included 78 arable farms, 59 cattle farms and 25 pig farms. In 2016, these numbers were slightly lower, when the number of organic farms amounted to 147. These included 82 arable farms, 46 cattle farms and 23 pig farms.

Fifth place in this top 5 is for Friesland. In this province the number of organic farms out at 155 pieces. This included 19 arable farms, 113 cattle farms and 2 pig farms. There are pluses compared to 2016. The number of organic farms then amounted to 145. In addition, in 2016 there were 20 organic arable farms, 99 cattle farms and 1 pig farm.

Sectors
If we only look at the number of organic cattle farms in the Netherlands, the top 3 shows minor changes. The first place is for Friesland. Here the number of organic cattle farms amounted to 113. In 2016, that was still 99 companies. Gelderland comes in second with 94 organic cattle farms (in 2016 that was 88 farms). The bronze medal is for Overijssel. The number of organic cattle farms there came to 81, compared to 2016 farms in 68.

If we look at the organic arable farms, Flevoland comes first. Here the number of organic farms came to 153; in 2016 there were still 140. The second place is for Gelderland. The number of organic companies there came to 95, in 2016 that was 89 companies. The bronze medal goes to Noord-Brabant, where the number of organic companies amounted to 75. In 2016 that was 82 companies.

If we look at the number of organic pig farms, Gelderland is at the top. Here the number of organic companies came to 53, in 2016 there were 41 companies. The silver medal goes to Overijssel, where the number of organic farms amounted to 31. In 2016 that was still 22. North Brabant is in third place. In this province, the number of organic pig farms amounted to 25, compared to 2016 farms in 23.

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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