Spit and Apache analysed 969 permit applications from large-scale Dutch pig and poultry farmers and made an inventory of the publicly available business documents of 1,494 cattle farmers in the border region - including the very intensively cultivated Noorderkempen region.
Since 2010, there has been a clear increase in the annual number of people moving catlle farmers.In the past five years, the number of new farms has even doubled compared to the previous five years.
Due to a lack of publicly available data, there are probably many more Dutch companies in Belgium that remain under the radar. Moreover, there are also 'hidden' forms of farm migration. When a Belgian company is taken over by a Dutchman, it is not always necessary to apply for a new permit, so the change in ownership may go unnoticed. It is also not visible when a Dutchman rents a location in Belgium and hires personnel to manage the stables.
Photo credit: Stef Arends
