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The world’s model farms

Netherlands · Westland

Dutch greenhouses

Just over 9,000 hectares of greenhouses — 0.2% of the country’s territory — and tomato yields 13 times the world average: glass, supplemental lighting, climate computers and water in a closed loop.

Greenhouses in Westland
Photo: Rob Oo from NL · CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Greenhouses near ’s-Gravenzande
Photo: Steven Lek · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Greenhouses in Maasdijk
Photo: Michielverbeek · CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
A Beekenkamp greenhouse with supplemental lighting
Photo: kees torn · CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Numbers

  • Greenhouses: just over 9,000 ha, ≈0.2% of the country’s area (2024).
  • Tomatoes: 828.5 million kg from 1,726 ha — ≈48 kg per square meter a year (2024).
  • Tomato yields: the Netherlands, 478.9 t/ha; the world, 36.8 t/ha (FAOSTAT, 2024).
  • Switching from sodium lamps to LEDs cuts electricity purchases (WUR, 2024).
Sources (4)

What to learn

Garden

Put seedlings under an LED grow light: short and sturdy, not leggy.

Farm

Even a film greenhouse with climate sensors and drip yields many times more than open ground.

Agribusiness

A climate computer, LEDs and recirculated water pay off: the money is in energy and in kilograms per square meter.

Video

A video search on third-party platforms — it opens in a new tab.

YouTube

Other farms

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Read more Photo: NASA · Public domain
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Russia · South, Center, Volga region, Siberia

Russia’s grain

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