Germany: The number of pig farms continues to decline
The number of pigs kept in Germany was 20.9 million as of May 3, 2025. Compared to November 3, 2024, the number decreased by 1.8%, or 375,000 animals, and by 1.2% compared to the previous year (-256,900 animals).
Over the past ten years, the pig population has declined significantly by 25.6% (-7.2 million animals), but less than the number of farms. Thus, the trend toward larger farms continues: While in 2015, an average farm kept just under 1,100 pigs, ten years later, this figure had risen to almost 1,400 animals per farm.
As of May 3, 2025, there were 9.4 million fattening pigs in Germany, 0.7% or 64,500 fewer animals than a year earlier. The number of piglets and young pigs decreased by 1.6% or 164,500 animals compared to May 2024, reaching 10.1 million. The number of breeding sows decreased by 1.3% (-18,200 animals) over the same period, remaining at just under 1.4 million animals.
Cattle population slightly declining
The number of cattle kept in Germany has also recently declined. As of May 3, 2025, 10.3 million cattle were kept in Germany, including 3.6 million dairy cows. This was 1.2%, or 126,000 head, fewer than on November 3, 2024, while the number of dairy cows remained almost constant at 0.3% (11,000 animals). Compared to May 2024, the cattle population fell by 2.7% (-291,500 animals) and by 18.3% (-2.3 million animals) compared to 2015. The dairy cow population fell by 2.5% (-90,000 animals) year-on-year and by 16.5% (-708,200 animals) over the previous ten years.
The long-term downward trend in dairy cow holdings continued. Compared to November 2024, the number of holdings fell by 1.9% (-930 holdings) to 47,700, and compared to May 2024, it fell by 3.5% (-1,700 holdings). Since 2015, the number of dairy cow holdings has fallen by 36.2% (-27,000 holdings).
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