Growth in organic livestock farming

Dutch organic vegetable and potato cultivation exceeds EU average

In 2017, on average 7.0 percent of the total utilised agricultural area (UUA) in the EU-28 was under organic farming; in the Netherlands this was 3.1 percent. The front runner in the EU-28 is Austria, where nearly one-quarter of the total area is organically farmed. In 2017, around 56 percent of the total organic area in the Netherlands was used as permanent grassland. At 44 percent, the share was lower in the EU-28.

On average, 3.8 percent of all dairy cows in the EU-28 were organically reared in 2017. This share was 1.9 percent in the Netherlands. Austria leads here as well, with more than 1 in 5 Austrian dairy cows organically reared.

The Netherlands is at the European forefront in terms of organic potato and vegetable production. Thirteen percent of the organic crop area is used for vegetables and 2.9 percent for potatoes; the respective shares are lower at 1.1 and 0.2 percent in the EU-28. The shares of cereals (6.1 percent) and permanent crops (1.1 percent) are below the EU average.