How much land is used for organic farming?
Of all the farmland in the Netherlands in 2023, 4.5 percent was used for organic farming. That is a total of 81.5 hectares. Over the past year, 7.2 thousand hectares of organic farmland was added, the equivalent of over 14 thousand football fields.
The target of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality is for 15 percent of all farmland to be organic by 2030. In order to reach that target, the total area of organic farmland will need to increase by 26 thousand hectares annually, on average, in the years ahead. That is an area equivalent to over 50 thousand football fields.
Dairy farms make up roughly half of organic farmland
Organic dairy farms accounted for almost half (47.7 percent) of all organic farmland in the Netherlands in 2023. That was 8.3 percent more than in the previous year. Arable farming (including cereals, kale, onions and potatoes) accounted for 16.4 percent of organic farmland.
8.2 thousand hectares of agricultural land undergoing conversion to organic
Farmers wishing to switch to organic methods first need to undergo a conversion period.noot1 This ensures that most residues of fertilizers and pesticides have time to disappear from the soil. Following the conversion period, farms are issued with a certificate, and are officially allowed to call themselves ‘organic’.
In 2023, 8.2 thousand hectares of farmland were in conversion, with or without certification. Dairy farmers had 3.9 thousand hectares of land under conversion, while arable farmers had 1.1 thousand hectares. The remaining land in conversion was divided between horticultural farms, other farms for grazing animals and farms growing crops and raising animals.
| Jaartal | Organic farmland | Undergoing conversion |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 47.0 | 3.4 |
| 2016 | 48.8 | 8.1 |
| 2017 | 53.0 | 9.4 |
| 2018 | 59.3 | 6.6 |
| 2019 | 63.3 | 7.7 |
| 2020 | 67.1 | 6.9 |
| 2021 | 71.3 | 8.0 |
| 2022 | 74.4 | 8.4 |
| 2023 | 81.5 | 8.2 |
Fewer organic chickens
The number of organically reared cattle increased by 5.2 percent to over 84 thousand, and the number of organically reared pigs also increased by 3.6 percent to nearly 120 thousand. In percentage terms, 2.2 percent of all cattle were organically reared, while for pigs the share was 1.1 percent.
The number of organically reared chickens, by contrast, was down by 13.9 percent in 2023. The number of organically reared goats and sheep also declined.
| Jaar | Cattle | Goats | Sheep | Pigs | Chickens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 106.62 | 111.31 | 99.09 | 102.06 | 111.58 |
| 2017 | 115.55 | 137.33 | 106.87 | 126.69 | 124.67 |
| 2018 | 127.12 | 164.14 | 102.81 | 134.89 | 140.79 |
| 2019 | 127.30 | 176.84 | 121.37 | 154.06 | 148.05 |
| 2020 | 134.83 | 171.97 | 123.72 | 147.77 | 146.68 |
| 2021 | 140.56 | 182.63 | 133.60 | 149.33 | 144.70 |
| 2022 | 142.24 | 178.00 | 129.19 | 163.88 | 142.67 |
| 2023 | 149.67 | 164.87 | 124.71 | 169.76 | 122.81 |
More organic farms
The number of certified organic farms increased by 40 in 2023. That took the total number to around 1,900 organic farms. There were also 180 farms in the process of converting to organic in 2023.
In total, there were over 500 organic dairy farms and 300 organic arable farms in 2023.
Source
StatLine – Agriculture; crops, livestock and land use by general farm type, region
Notes
Converting to organic farming, with and without certification
Farms converting to organic practices with certification are monitored by the Skal Biocontrole Foundation. This foundation determines when a business can be certified and inspects organic farms. The conversion process for crop plots generally takes two years.
In addition, farmers can convert land without being certified, for example if they decide to make a more gradual switch to organic farming. Arable farms might grow organic potatoes and decide to convert their fields of carrots without certification, for instance. This allows them to convert their land to organic farming in a gradual manner. However, this type of conversion is subject to strict requirements. Skal Biocontrole will assess the non-certified conversion and decide on certification after a period of three years.