Agriculture’s consumption unchanged for 25 years, despite higher output

Manure spreading for farmland fertilisation in Emst
© Hollandse Hoogte / Jaco Klamer
Since 1995, the volume of Dutch agricultural production has grown by 20 percent. Nevertheless, there has been no increase in agriculture's consumption of environmentally harmful substances such as livestock and artificial manure, or in energy use, e.g. natural gas consumption. The amount of nitrogen introduced through the application of natural and chemical fertilisers is currently lower than 25 years ago, while natural gas consumption has remained more or less stable. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Crop and animal production have both increased since 1995. The growth in crop production was achieved despite the reduced fertiliser consumption. The amount of nitrogen applied to farmland via livestock manure fell by 41 percent up to 2012 and then increased slightly again. Nitrogen supplied through chemical fertilisers fell following a similar pattern. Agriculture’s consumption of non-renewable energy such as natural gas was slightly lower in 2021 than 25 years ago after several peaks and troughs.

Agricultural production and environmentally relevant agricultural consumption
 Crop production (1995=100)Animal production (1995=100)Nitrogen supplied to farmland through manure (1995=100)Nitrogen supplied to farmland through fertilisers (1995=100)Non-renewables consumption (1995=100)
1995100100100100100
199698.5100100.495.9109
1997104.4101.796.798.793.3
1998102.499.289.199.292.5
1999108.2101.38694.389.9
2000112.398.880.98391.7
2001108.394.477.872.489.6
2002107.794.37170.983.8
2003110.991.670.370.484.8
2004115.197.267.472.986.8
2005114.597.166.867.590.8
2006113.597.566.369.683.5
2007115.4100.265.861.988.8
2008118.5101.9655797.3
2009121.2103.96354.497
2010121104.963.952.8114.7
2011120.3104.262.751.5102.8
2012119.9105.159.451.5102.4
2013120.1108.161.655.7100.6
2014124.3106.163.654.987.9
2015122.7110.663.963.191.6
201612211764.559.390.3
2017125.11156759.391
2018121.6113.36754.694.9
2019123.5115.864.855.493.2
2020121.71176556.790.3
2021126114.793.2

Higher milk production (partly) thanks to concentrates

The fact that, after 2012, more nitrogen entered farmland via livestock manure is because cows started eating more concentrate feed. In the Netherlands, cows mainly eat grass and silage maize from Dutch soil, supplemented with concentrates. Pigs and poultry mainly eat concentrates. Concentrated feed is made from wheat, maize grain and soya, for example, and is a major source of protein in livestock diets. Nitrogen is a building block of protein; therefore, we refer to it as 'the supply of nitrogen through concentrate feed'. Until about 2002, the supply of nitrogen through concentrate feed to pigs and cattle decreased. Then the supply increased again, but where the increase stagnated in pigs, it increased sharply in cattle after 2012.

The increasing use of concentrate feed in cattle contributed to higher milk production per cow. In 1995, Dutch dairy farmers delivered an average of 6.3 thousand kilograms of milk per cow to dairies. In 2021, this was 8.7 thousand kilograms per cow. Partly as a result, total animal production increased by 15 percent since 1995, despite a shrinking livestock population.

Most of the nitrogen supplied through concentrate feed eventually ends up in animal manure. The supply of nitrogen in animal manure to farmland fell by 41 percent until 2012, before rising again. In 2020, the supply was 35 percent lower than in 1995.

Nitrogen supply in agriculture
 Supply of nitrogen in livestock concentrates (million kg)Supply of nitrogen to farmland in animal manure (million kg)
1995485549
1996472551
1997447531
1998444489
1999442472
2000422444
2001399427
2002382390
2003349386
2004361370
2005375367
2006372364
2007377361
2008398357
2009397346
2010404351
2011399344
2012385326
2013396338
2014406349
2015414351
2016429354
2017425368
2018410368
2019400356
2020406357

Supply of nitrogen in concentrates, by type of livestock
 Cattle (million kg)Pigs (million kg)Poultry (million kg)
1995171213101
1996159212101
1997145202100
1998143199102
1999134199109
2000130186106
2001126173100
2002122156104
200312315274
200412314989
200512015897
200611815995
200711616398
2008127169102
2009124170103
2010129168107
2011125170104
201212016699
2013130163103
2014142160104
2015144162108
2016161159109
2017160160105
201815315998
201914715697
202015515497

Natural gas biggest energy expense

An important form of environmentally relevant consumption concerns that of non-renewable energy. In agriculture, this mostly involves natural gas. Greenhouse horticulture consumes the most natural gas. Until 2005, greenhouses were mostly heated by gas-fired boilers and lit by electricity from the grid. Since 2006, more and more horticulturists have been generating their own electricity and heat from natural gas through combined heat and power (CHP). They feed some of this electricity back into the public grid. The non-renewable energy further consumed by agriculture is mainly petroleum, especially as fuel for tractors.

Total consumption of non-renewable energy in agriculture
 Natural gas (Petajoules)Petroleum feedstock and petroleum products (Petajoules)
'95139.618.5
'96154.917.4
'97131.516
'98130.216
'99125.316.8
'00127.817.2
'01124.417.2
'02116.116.4
'03117.716.3
'04121.415.8
'05127.216.4
'06115.916.1
'07124.316.1
'08137.915.9
'09137.615.7
'10164.916.5
'11146.216.4
'12146.115.8
'13142.516.6
'14121.517.5
'15126.618.2
'16125.916.9
'17127.416.4
'18131.318.7
'19129.418
'20**124.818
'21**128.618.7
**revised provisional figures

CBS examined how agriculture has developed from an environmental point of view from 1995 onwards and published it in the article 'The sustainability of agriculture part I: production and consumption', in the Statistical Trends series. The focus is on how environmentally relevant consumption developed in conjunction with production. Environmentally relevant consumption refers to the use of (non-renewable) energy, animal manure and fertilisers, plant protection products, water and feed. The evolution of agricultural emissions will be discussed in a subsequent article.