Livestock manure; production, transport and use, key figures
| Manure and nutrients | Periods | Stored manure and manure during grazing (million kg) | Manure removal from farms (million kg) | Manure supply to farms (million kg) | Processed manure (excluding exports) (million kg) | Net manure exports (million kg) | Spreading area for manure (million kg) | Use of livestock manure in agriculture (million kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total manure types | 1980 | 85,634 | . | . | . | . | . | |
| Total manure types | 1990 | 87,445 | . | . | . | . | . | |
| Total manure types | 2000 | 75,558 | 13,209 | 11,484 | . | . | 73,833 | |
| Total manure types | 2010 | 72,172 | 18,909 | 14,489 | . | . | 67,752 | |
| Total manure types | 2016 | 78,211 | 25,624 | 19,251 | . | . | 71,837 | |
| Total manure types | 2017 | 77,878 | 25,922 | 19,724 | . | . | 71,680 | |
| Total manure types | 2018 | 75,163 | 25,259 | 19,813 | . | . | 69,718 | |
| Total manure types | 2019 | 74,602 | 25,519 | 20,054 | . | . | 69,137 | |
| Total manure types | 2020 | 74,328 | 25,816 | 20,524 | . | . | 69,037 | |
| Total manure types | 2021 | 73,462 | 25,490 | 20,728 | . | . | 68,701 | |
| Source: CBS. | ||||||||
Table explanation
This table comprises information about livestock manure production and production of nitrogen and phosphate in manure. It also includes data on excreted nitrogen that evaporates as ammonia and other nitrogen compounds or is removed as rinsing water from air scrubbers. The use of nitrogen and phosphate in agricultural holdings is calculated from the manure production and the difference between supply and removal of manure. The use of manure is related to the available spreading area based on fertilising standards.
Data available from: 1950.
Status of the figures:
Final figures;
New insights in calculation methodologies can lead to recalculation of the time series.
Changes as of 26 June 2025:
Final data on manure production in 2024 have been added. The calculation of the application area for livestock manure in 2019 is based on new data from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.
When will new figures be published?
Final figures on manure transport and manure use in 2024 and preliminary figures on manure production in 2025 will be released in the first quarter of 2026.
Description topics
- Stored manure and manure during grazing
- In case of manure (feces en urine) and phosphate equal to total excretion. In case of nitrogen (N), the amount of nitrogen excreted with subtraction of nitrogen losses in the form of ammonia (NH3) including removal with effluent from air scrubbers, nitrous oxide (N2O), nitrogen oxide (NO) en nitrogen gas (N2).
- Manure removal from farms
- Removal of manure is mainly due to a lack of sufficient land area for spreading manure. The manure spreading allowance for a farm is calculated as area of agricultural land multiplied by the amount of manure allowed per hectare. The amount of transported solid cattle- and pig manure is calculated as slurry using forfeits for P concentration of solid and slurry manure. This has been done in order to compare the quantities transported with the quantities produced that are calculated for cattle and pig manure as slurry.
- Manure supply to farms
- Supply of manure takes place mainly on agricultural holdings with enough land available for spreading manure. The amount of transported solid cattle- and pig manure is calculated as slurry using forfeits for P concentration of solid and slurry manure. This has been done in order to compare the quantities transported with the quantities produced that are calculated for cattle and pig manure as slurry.
- Processed manure (excluding exports)
- Net manure exports
- Spreading area for manure
- Use of livestock manure in agriculture
- Use of nitrogen and phosphate in animal manure on agricultural holdings. Use is calculated as production of manure on agricultural holdings plus supply of manure to agricultural holdings minus removal of manure from agricultural holdings. The use of manure comprises the spreading of stored manure by means of application techniques and the manure produced by livestock during grazing.