Decline in Grassland Area of Dairy Farms

Decline in Grassland Area of Dairy Farmsx thousand ha

*provisional figures

Of the 668 thousand hectares of grassland 481 thousand hectares is permanent grassland (72 percent), 147 thousand hectares is temporary grassland (22 percent), and 40 thousand hectares is natural grassland (6 percent).

25 years ago, dairy farmers together had 659 thousand hectares of grassland. Particularly between 2002 and 2004, the area of temporary grassland increased at the expense of permanent grassland. The share of natural grassland was 1 percent in 2000 and 6 percent in 2025.

Grassland per Dairy Cow Remains the Same

In 2025, there is 0.38 hectares of grassland available per dairy cow . Over the past 25 years, the amount of grassland per dairy cow has fluctuated around 0.40 hectares. In 2006 it was 0.41 hectares and in 2016 it was 0.36 hectares.
ha

* provisional figures

Most Grassland per Dairy Cow in North Holland

In North Brabant, a dairy farm has an average of 0.25 hectares of grassland per dairy cow, the lowest of all provinces. Flevoland comes in second with 0.26 hectares.

In North Holland, the most space is available, with 0.49 hectares of grassland per dairy cow. South Holland comes in second with 0.45 hectares. These are also the two provinces where cows are most often in the pasture.

Hectares of Grassland per Dairy Cow

Differences by Farm Size

There are 919 small dairy farms, each having fewer than 50 dairy cows. Together, these farms own 19 thousand hectares of grassland. They have an average of 0.60 hectares of grassland per dairy cow.

The largest farms have more than 200 dairy cows, these are 2076 farms. They have an average of 0.32 hectares of grassland per dairy cow. In total, these farms have 198 thousand hectares of grassland.

Most farms (3796) have between 100 and 150 dairy cows and together own 191 thousand hectares of grassland. These dairy farms have an average of 0.40 hectares of grassland per dairy cow.

Provisional Figures from Agricultural Census

This message is based on the provisional figures from the agricultural census published in September 2025. The figures will be adjusted in November, and the final figures will follow in March 2026.