The number of pigs kept on Dutch farms has fallen below the 10 million mark for the first time since 1997, according to preliminary figures for 2025 from statistics agency CBS.

There are currently 9.96 million pigs in the country, some 5.1% fewer than in 2025, most are concentrated on farms in Noord-Brabant, the CBS said. The national dairy herd has also gone down by 3.3% 3.65 million, most of which are dairy cows

The decline means the voluntary buyout schemes proposed by successive governments to limit nitrogen pollution are having an effect, the CBS said. In 2024, some 1,700 livestock farmers signed up for one of several schemes.  

The figures show that farmers with small farms with up to 500 pigs and medium-sized farms with up to 5,000 have called it a day, almost halving the total number of pig farms in the country in a decade.

The number of factory farms with over 5,000 pigs has remained steady.

The number of dairy farms went down by over a quarter as a result of measures put in place in 2017  to limit phosphate pollution.

However, the average number of cattle per farm has been going up in the last few years. In 2025, dairy farmers have an average of 114 cows, compared to 89 a decade ago.