Organic animal farms are gaining popularity in Europe (statistics)

Over the last two years, an increase in the number of animals on farms has led to an increase in welfare in the European Union. According to the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), in 2017, there were 4.29 million heads of cattle in the EU counties, which is by 7.3% more than in 2016, writes “Agro-Center”.

The number of cattle on organic farms increased by almost 10%. According to statistics, the biggest number of organic cattle farms is in Germany. In 2017, there were 788,560 animals, and the herd increases by 12.6% annually.

In France, the number of cattle on organic farms increased by 13.3%, up to 649,860 units. Austria ranked third with approximately 422,000 animals.

According to Eurostat, the number of organic dairy cows in Germany increased by 16.2% to 203,960 heads, compared with 2016. In France, the number of organic dairy cows increased by 6.9%, to 128,390 animals. In Austria, – by 7.8%, to 115 080 animals. However, Danish organic farms increased the number of cattle by 21.6% to 199,870 and of dairy cows by 22.1% to 70,990 heads.

Even in countries with a relatively small number of cows used for the production of organic milk, the number of cattle has increased. These include Spain and the Czech Republic, where beef production is dominant.

There was a reduction in the number of livestock on organic farms only in five EU countries. Poland and Romania are among them. In addition, the number of organic cows has decreased in Hungary, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.