Farmers increasingly keep working beyond age 65

THE HAGUE – Nearly one in five Dutch farms (self)employs someone over 65 years of age. Nearly half of the 13,300 farmers over 65 puts in a work week of over 30 hours. About 3,400 of these farm workers or farmers are aged 75 and older. About 60 percent of these people work on farms too small to earn a respectable living, reports the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics. While the number of agricultural operations has declined by 25 percent over the last ten years to 73,000, the number of farmers on small operations drawing a pension, only saw a drop of 18 percent. The CBS concludes that they continue to work even longer. In addition to the 13,300 pensioners, there is another group of 19,200 aged 55 to 65. These two groups represent 45 percent of all agricultural operations in the country.