The Hidden Scoreboard: Green Maize Versus Wheat by the Tonne
In 2024 the EU-27 harvested 245 333.5 thousand tonnes of green maize — 245.3 million tonnes of whole crop — against 111 585.5 thousand tonnes of common wheat, or 111.6 million tonnes. The forage crop is 2.2 times the size of Europe's bread grain harvest, and it is not a niche curiosity: the official EU-27 aggregate in Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1 carries a value for green maize in every year from 2015 to 2024.
Over the decade the two lines move in opposite directions. Green maize went from 220 155.9 thousand tonnes in 2015 to 245 333.5 thousand tonnes in 2024, a rise of 11.4%, with a ten-year mean of 240.6 million tonnes. Common wheat moved the other way, from 135 755.0 thousand tonnes down to 111 585.5. The chart at this section draws both series on one axis; the gap between them in 2024 is the widest of the decade.
Green maize also swings much harder than grain. The series peaks at 269 254.2 thousand tonnes in 2021, drops to 218 236.2 thousand tonnes in 2022 and recovers to 245 333.5 in 2024, and the ten-year coefficient of variation is 6.5%. That volatility is a weather signal, and it matters to anyone buying silage or selling feedstock to a biogas plant.
EU-27 whole-crop harvests in Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1: green maize (G3000) beside common wheat (C1110), selected years, 1 000 tonnes.
| Year, EU-27 | Green maize (1 000 t) | Common wheat (1 000 t) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 220 155.9 | 135 755.0 |
| 2018 | 228 234.2 | 115 591.6 |
| 2021 | 269 254.2 | 129 884.3 |
| 2022 | 218 236.2 | 126 640.5 |
| 2024 | 245 333.5 | 111 585.5 |
Why Germany Leads: The Biogas and Cattle Double-Act
Germany harvested 90 925.6 thousand tonnes in 2024, 37.1% of everything the EU grew. France follows with 49 048.4 thousand tonnes (20.0%), Poland with 25 721.1 thousand tonnes (10.5%) and Italy with 22 667.1 thousand tonnes (9.2%). The chart at this section ranks the 2024 producers; the leaders are separated by wide gaps rather than forming a crowd.
The German figure is a biogas story as much as an animal-feed story. Green maize is the standard feedstock of agricultural biogas plants, and it is harvested whole-plant at the stage — waxy, high in starch, low in lignin — that ferments best in a digester. The same silage goes to dairy and beef herds, which is why the crop is grown across the whole country rather than in one favoured region.
The German line is not a steady climb. It peaked at 104 839.3 thousand tonnes in 2021, fell to 73 206.7 thousand tonnes in 2022 and recovered to 90 925.6 thousand tonnes in 2024 — a net gain of 4.2% across the decade, and a reminder that any national ranking is a snapshot of one weather year. Germany's 2024 yield of 44.38 tonnes per hectare, against France's 38.49, shows how far the crop is pushed on good arable land.
Top green-maize producers in the 2024 vintage of Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1, with their share of the official EU-27 aggregate.
| Producer, 2024 | Green maize (1 000 t) | Share of EU-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 90 925.6 | 37.1% |
| France | 49 048.4 | 20.0% |
| Poland | 25 721.1 | 10.5% |
| Italy | 22 667.1 | 9.2% |
| Denmark | 11 216.2 | 4.6% |
| Netherlands | 7 602.0 | 3.1% |
| Belgium | 7 519.0 | 3.1% |
| Czechia | 7 130.5 | 2.9% |
Poland's Silage Fields: The Decade in Numbers
Poland grew 11 315.3 thousand tonnes of green maize in 2015 and 25 721.1 thousand tonnes in 2024, a rise of 127.3% — the largest relative gain among the large producers. Over the same decade France ended 1.5% lower and Germany 4.2% higher.
The Polish line in the chart is a staircase rather than a straight climb. Output jumped to 16 962.9 thousand tonnes in 2016, reached 21 968.0 in 2018, peaked at 28 682.7 in 2021 and settled at 25 721.1 in 2024. The driver is the same double-act seen in Germany — expanding dairy herds plus a growing fleet of biogas plants fed on silage maize — on a farm structure where small and medium holdings still dominate.
One reporting detail worth stating plainly: the green-maize series in Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1 carries an official EU-27 aggregate for every year from 2015 to 2024, so Poland's trend is a real change in production, not an artefact of member states entering or leaving the sum. Poland supplied 10.5% of the EU-27 total in 2024, up from a much smaller base at the start of the decade.
Poland's green-maize harvest, 2015-2024, Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1. Poland produced 10.5% of the EU-27 total in 2024.
| Year | Poland green maize (1 000 t) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 11 315.3 |
| 2016 | 16 962.9 |
| 2017 | 16 582.8 |
| 2018 | 21 968.0 |
| 2019 | 20 856.0 |
| 2020 | 26 534.9 |
| 2021 | 28 682.7 |
| 2022 | 26 047.5 |
| 2023 | 24 424.2 |
| 2024 | 25 721.1 |
From Field to Silo: What Green Maize Becomes
Green maize is maize harvested for forage, not for grain. The whole plant — stalk, leaf and cob — is cut at the dough stage, chopped and packed into a silo, where it ferments into silage. That is why these tonnages dwarf a grain harvest: the figure counts wet, whole-plant mass rather than a dry cereal grain, and Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1 reports it in EU standard humidity.
The efficiency story sits in the two bars of the chart at this section. EU production rose 11.4% between 2015 and 2024, from 220 155.9 thousand tonnes to 245 333.5 thousand tonnes, while the harvested area fell from 6 100.0 thousand hectares to 5 867.9 thousand hectares, a decline of 3.8%. Dividing 2024 production by 2024 area gives roughly 41.8 tonnes per hectare — more output from fewer hectares.
The honesty note: a tonne of green maize is not a tonne of food, and not even a tonne of dry feed. Most of the weight is water, harvested and fermented on the farm where it is used. The right way to read the number is as a measure of the land, machinery and fermentation capacity a region dedicates to feeding animals and biogas digesters — not as a contribution to the food supply.
Production, area and yield context for EU-27 green maize, Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Measure, EU-27 | Value |
|---|---|
| Green maize production, 2015 | 220 155.9 thousand t |
| Green maize production, 2024 | 245 333.5 thousand t |
| Change in production, 2015-2024 | +11.4% |
| Harvested area, 2015 | 6 100.0 thousand ha |
| Harvested area, 2024 | 5 867.9 thousand ha |
| Change in area, 2015-2024 | -3.8% |
| Approximate EU yield, 2024 (production ÷ area) | 41.8 t/ha |
| Ten-year mean production | 240.6 million t |
| Year-to-year variation (coefficient of variation) | 6.5% |
| German yield, 2024 | 44.38 t/ha |
| French yield, 2024 | 38.49 t/ha |
The Other Fodder: The Green Cereals You Never Hear About
Green maize has a quieter sibling: green cereals — whole-crop rye, barley, wheat or triticale harvested green and ensiled for forage. The official EU-27 series in Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1 runs from 11 137.0 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 12 521.8 thousand tonnes in 2024, peaking at 13 193.4 thousand tonnes in 2019 and falling to 10 086.7 thousand tonnes in 2018.
The scale is the point. Green cereals close the decade at 12 521.8 thousand tonnes against 245 333.5 thousand tonnes of green maize; they fill the gaps a maize rotation leaves, on farms that want a winter cover crop they can also feed. The chart at this section plots the EU series for this crop, and its 2018 dip and 2019 spike follow the same weather rhythm as the maize line.
One quirk belongs in plain sight: 2015 has no value for green cereals in the current vintage of the table — the series simply begins in 2016 — so no honest 2015-to-2024 percentage change can be quoted for this crop. Everything else here follows the same reporting rules as the maize data, and the sibling crop is covered in its own article in this series.
EU-27 green-cereal forage harvest, 2016-2024, Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1. No 2015 value is published for this crop in the current vintage.
| Year, EU-27 | Green cereals (1 000 t) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 11 137.0 |
| 2017 | 11 438.7 |
| 2018 | 10 086.7 |
| 2019 | 13 193.4 |
| 2020 | 11 721.9 |
| 2021 | 11 028.8 |
| 2022 | 10 636.9 |
| 2023 | 10 762.5 |
| 2024 | 12 521.8 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is green maize, and why does Europe grow so much of it?
Green maize is maize harvested whole-plant for silage rather than grain. The EU-27 grew 245 333.5 thousand tonnes of it in 2024, mostly to feed cattle and to fill biogas digesters, which is why the crop is 2.2 times the size of the EU common-wheat harvest.
Is green maize really bigger than Europe's wheat crop?
By physical tonnage, yes. The 2024 EU-27 green-maize harvest was 245 333.5 thousand tonnes against 111 585.5 thousand tonnes of common wheat in Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1. The comparison is mass only — green maize is wet whole-plant forage, so the two figures are not interchangeable as food or as dry feed.
Which EU country produces the most green maize?
Germany, with 90 925.6 thousand tonnes in 2024, or 37.1% of the EU-27 total. France follows with 49 048.4 thousand tonnes (20.0%), Poland with 25 721.1 thousand tonnes (10.5%) and Italy with 22 667.1 thousand tonnes (9.2%).
How has EU green maize changed since 2015?
Production rose from 220 155.9 thousand tonnes in 2015 to 245 333.5 thousand tonnes in 2024, up 11.4%, with a ten-year mean of 240.6 million tonnes. The harvested area fell from 6 100.0 to 5 867.9 thousand hectares, down 3.8%, so the gain came from yield rather than more land. Poland more than doubled output over the decade, up 127.3%.
Source data extracted from Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1.
This article was generated using AI. The content is based on Eurostat data and is provided as a starting point — please verify all data with the original source.
