Germany published statistics on the reduction of the livestock industry

The reduction in the number of agricultural enterprises has not led to a corresponding reduction in the number of farm animals, according to the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

The results of the 2020 agricultural census showed that, compared to 2010, the number of agricultural enterprises engaged in livestock production decreased by 22% - from 216,100 to 168,800. In total, there are 262,800 agricultural enterprises in Germany in 2020.

The number of farms with cattle for 10 years has decreased from 144.9 thousand to 108 thousand. The number of cattle for the same period decreased from 12.5 million to 11.3 million heads.

At the same time, the number of dairy farms decreased by 40% to 54,300 with 3.9 million dairy cows. However, it is noted that the total number of dairy cows has increased, as the average number of cows kept on the farm increased from 46 to 72.

In 2020, there were about 31,900 pig farms in Germany, which is 47% less than ten years ago - 60,100. But due to the consolidation of farms, the livestock during this period decreased from 27.6 million to 26.3 million heads.

The specialists note that the number of hens and laying hens fluctuates due to short production cycles and therefore is not an indicator, but the number of poultry farms has decreased by about 15%: from 58,200 to 49,400 over the past ten years. At the same time, there are about 186.3 million places for chickens in Germany in 2020, which is 1.2% more than in 2016 (184.1 million places in 47,200 farms).

Note that livestock enterprises are unevenly distributed throughout Germany. Thus, more than half of the total number of pigs is kept in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, and poultry farming is concentrated in Lower Saxony.

Recall that the 2020 agricultural census was conducted in March 2020 and the results of the CORONAVIRUS were not included in its results.