In 2016 the acreage for asparagus cultivation was 27,000 hectares (+5% compared to 2015). The largest area used for vegetable cultivation in Germany is used for asparagus; according to the German Statistic Office (Destatis) asparagus was cultivated on 22% of the German acreage in 2016. The asparagus cultivation is focused in the regions of Lower Saxony (5,930 hectares), Brandenburg (4,410 hectares), North Rhine-Westphalia (4,350 hectares) and Bavaria (3,740 hectares). The total German yield of asparagus was 120,000 metric tons in 2016.
Despite extreme weather in certain regions, which seriously influenced the yield in 2016, the vegetable yield of 3.5 million metric tons was 3% higher than the previous four years.
Onions, carrots and cabbage are grown on the largest acreage after asparagus. Onions are cultivated on about 11,300 hectares, carrots on 11,200 hectares and cabbage on 6,200 hectares. The carrot yield, with 642,000 metric tons, was the highest yield of vegetables grown in the open field, followed by onions with 523,000 metric tons.
In 2016 a total of 7,493 farms cultivated vegetables and strawberries on an acreage of 140,100 hectares, and an open field share of 137,900 hectares. The largest acreages are situated in North Rhine-Westphalia (23,160 hectares), followed by Rhineland-Palatinate (19,500 hectares), and Lower Saxony (19,300 hectares). The area for open field strawberry cultivation decreased with 4% (17,000 hectare) compared to the previous year. The leading regions for open field strawberry cultivation are Lower Saxony with 3,860 hectares and Baden-Württemberg with 3,330 hectares.
1,138 organic farms cultivate 12,400 hectares, a share of 10%, in 2016. Compared to 2015, the acreage used for organically grown vegetables in the open field increased by 15% (1,650 hectares).