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The latest figures on livestock farming in Germany show a moderate recovery in pig numbers for 2025. At the same time, structural change in the protein industry continues:
Fewer and fewer farms are keeping animals, while average herd sizes continue to grow. This is according to the preliminary livestock census conducted by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
As of November 3, 2025, there were 21.5 million pigs in 15,220 pig farms in Germany. Compared to the previous survey on May 3, 2025, this represents an increase in the pig population of 2.8% or 575,800 animals. The population also increased compared to the previous year, albeit more moderately: plus 0.9% or 196,300 animals.
Pig farming: Fewer farms, larger herds
While the pig population has recently shown a slight positive trend, the number of farms has continued to decline. Compared to May 2025, it fell only slightly by 0.2% (–30 farms). However, there has been a significant decline year-on-year: since November 2024, the number of pig farms has fallen by 2.7% or 430 farms.
The long-term trend is even more pronounced. Compared to 2015, the number of farms has fallen by 40.8% or around 10,500 farms. This continues the trend toward greater concentration in pig farming – a key issue for the entire protein industry.
Structural change in animal husbandry: livestock numbers per farm are rising
Despite the current increase, pig numbers remain well below the level of ten years ago. Compared to 2015, they fell by 22.3% or 6.2 million animals. However, as the number of farms fell even more sharply over the same period, the average herd size continued to increase.
In 2015, a farm kept an average of just under 1,100 pigs. Ten years later, the figure was more than 1,400 animals per farm. The trend toward larger units thus continues to shape the structures of the conventional meat industry as well as the discussions within the protein sector as a whole.
Pig stocks by type of farming: Different developments
Within pig farming, there are significant differences between the individual production stages. On the reference date, 9.2 million fattening pigs were kept. This corresponds to a decline of 6.4% or 626,200 animals compared to November 2024.
In contrast, the number of piglets and young pigs rose significantly. At 10.9 million animals, it was 8.1% or 809,800 animals higher than the previous year's figure. The breeding sow population also developed slightly positively, increasing by 1.4% or 19,300 animals to a total of 1.4 million animals.
Cattle and dairy cow stocks: stability year-on-year
As of November 3, 2025, German farms had 10.5 million cattle, including 3.6 million dairy cows. Compared to the previous year, the cattle population decreased by 0.4% or 41,000 animals.
The dairy cow population remained virtually constant over the course of the year, increasing slightly by 0.2%. In the long term, however, the structural decline remains visible here as well: since 2015, the dairy cow population has decreased by 16% or 688,000 animals.
At the same time, the number of dairy farms also fell by 3.1% (1,500 fewer farms) to around 47,200. Compared to 2015, this represents a decrease of 35.6% or 26,100 farms.
Sheep farming in Germany: slight increase in numbers
As of November 3, 2025, the sheep population in Germany stood at around 1.5 million animals. This was 0.8% or 12,100 animals above the previous year's level. However, a ten-year comparison shows a decline of 3.6% or 56,800 animals.
The number of sheep farms continued to decline. As of the current reporting date, there were around 9,400 farms, which corresponds to a decline of 2.7% compared to the previous year. Since 2015, the number of farms has fallen by 5.0% or 490 farms.
Source: Destatis (Federal Statistical Office), Schweinebestand 2025 leicht gewachsen, Zahl der Betriebe weiterhin rückläufig, Dec. 2025 (in German language).
