Agriculture
Flat landscapes, fertile soil, and a moderate climate - the Niederrhein region was made for agriculture, livestock breeding and horticulture. A flourishing sectoral mix of producers, processors and marketers has found a modern balance between ecologically sound agriculture, healthy products and successful business here.
Around 4,600 agricultural holdings, mostly small and medium-sized family farms, cultivate almost 200,000 hectares of land in the Niederrhein region. About two thirds of the farms have cattle for milk production and the fattening of livestock.
In the fields and meadows, fodder for animal production as well as potatoes, sugar beets and various types of cabbage grow, including the white cabbage called “Kappes”, often used for Sauerkraut. In spring the region’s famous asparagus sprouts here.
The agricultural businesses also include themore than 800 professional horticultural enterprisesthat grow all sorts of vegetables, fruit and ornamental plants in the Niederrhein region, sometimes in greenhouses, to supply the region with fresh goods throughout the year. There are also several thousand small businesses not included in the statistics that contribute to the enormous significance of horticulture in the Niederrhein agribusiness landscape.
The most important hub between horticulturists and traders is the internationally active marketing cooperative Landgard, which is owned by the producers themselves. Its headquarters in Straelenlies close to the Dutch border and thus in the middle of the largest continuous horticultural region in Europe. This is where Germany’s auctioning of cut and potted flowers with the highest revenue takes place. Fruit and vegetables from the region also find their way to processors, wholesale and consumers via Langard.