Again more cattle grazing

According to the Agricultural Census, 71 percent of the 1.6 million dairy cows in the Netherlands grazed outdoors in 2018. This was still 65 percent in 2015 and 2016. In the period 2010–2015, the share of grazing cattle declined from 74 to 65 percent.

More farms practicing grazing

In 2018, the share of pasture-based dairy farms rose for the third year in a row, reaching 80 percent. A contrasting trend was seen in the period 2011–2015, with more and more dairy farmers keeping their cattle indoors. On 77 percent of the farms, all dairy cows were allowed out of their sheds, against 3 percent of dairy farms where only part of the herd was allowed to go outside. Twenty percent of all dairy farms keep their herd in stables throughout the year. In 2018, these primarily larger farms accounted for 30 percent of the total dairy herd.

Primarily larger farms opt for partial outdoor grazing

Larger farms (with more than 160 dairy cows) are more likely to opt for partial outdoor grazing. Across the entire dairy sector, 4 out of 100 farms apply this pasture system. The share is slightly under 1 in 100 for larger farms. The share of farms with 160 or more dairy cows where the animals went outside for grazing did continue to rise in 2018 to 59 percent. This was still 53 percent in 2016.

Less grazing per day

A trend among pasture-based dairy farms is to keep their herd outside for shorter periods of time. In 2018, grazing cattle spent on average 1,648 hours on pasture, versus 1,941 hours in 2013. This reduction in grazing time is partly related to farm expansion and increased use of the partial grazing system. In Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, dairy cows spent most of their time on pasture, but even in these provinces they receive fewer grazing hours.