Fewer farms in Zeeland, but they are getting bigger

“data-revoke =”“>

In 2009, Zeeland had 3,226 farms, in 2019 there were 2,807, a decrease of 13%. Nationally, the number of farms declined much more during this period. In 2009 there were 73,008 farms in the Netherlands, in 2009 there were 53,233, a decrease of 27 percent.

Got bigger

The remaining businesses grew on average. The average commercial area in 2009 was 37.2 hectares in Zeeland. In 2019, it was 42.6 hectares, a growth of 14.5%. Nationally, the average farm size increased from 26.3 to 34.1 hectares, a growth of 29.9 percent.

Now we put our shoulders to the wheel and it happened in no time. “

According to Bram de Visser of the agricultural cooperative CZAV, this trend has been visible for some time. “We are seeing more and more companies working together or expanding,” he says. “As they grow up, they can keep costs under control. And that’s a necessity for survival.”

Michael Schippers from Kamperland has started a new business with colleagues from the neighborhood, VOF Nieuw Campen. “Together, we went from 120 to 350 hectares,” he says. “This has many advantages. For example, we all had our own vehicles and equipment. Together we have now purchased new equipment with which we can do a lot more.”

Motivates a lot

According to Schippers, this doesn’t just produce financial benefits. “We can now cover the costs together and we are also making new investments together,” he says. In addition, he emphasizes that working together is very motivating for him. “At first I was always working alone, then it’s sometimes hard to tackle the bad jobs. Now we put our shoulders together and it happened in no time.”