Dairy farmers with smaller herds agreement – Financieele Dagblad

The livestock in the Netherlands must have shrunk by 4% to 8% over two years to reduce the manure problem. They are farmers and Martijn van Dam State Secretary for Economic Affairs Thursday agreed after months of wrangling over the interpretation of the phosphate legal system.

appointment should lead to the quantity of phosphate in the Netherlands – as a component of fertilizer – falls below the European limit. After the milk quota for dairy farmers was released in April 2015, the herd has grown rapidly in the Netherlands. Due to the increase in fertilizer phosphate ceiling prescribed by the European Union has been exceeded. Therefore, the government was forced to introduce a system to limit farmers in their manure.

Months of negotiations

“With this system we are sure that we reduce manure production and we also need not fear the future for crossing from the ceiling, “Van Dam said. In recent months he negotiated with LTO Netherlands, the Dutch Dairy Association, the Dutch Agricultural Youth, Network thorough and the Nature and Environment Foundation about the effect of the intended phosphate legal system.

Frisian farmer gets at sunrise cows to be milked. Photo: Bart Eijgenhuijsen / HH

Farmers may only phosphate per January 1, 2017 produce as they have sufficient phosphate rights. “All dairy farmers receive rights granted based on the number of cows held on July 2, 2015, the date on which the phosphate system was announced,” said the Ministry of Economic Affairs

Mutual trade

Since the total number of rights still always is great to bring the phosphate production below the European limit, the dairy herd will have to cut through the gradual skimming phosphate rights. Dairy farmers get so until the beginning of 2018, the time to reduce their phosphorus produced through natural wastage.

The Dutch dairy industry has an estimated € 6.6 billion exported milk products in 2015.

In the Netherlands, processing 23 dairy companies with 52 factories 13.3 billion kilos of milk from 1.6 million cows kept on more than 18,000 dairy farms.

Dairy farmers who cease their business or who want to keep fewer cows can be traded between the rights released them. With each transaction will be canceled 10% of the transferred rights to bring the phosphate level down.

A lot of land, little cows

the introduction of the system would mainly be to the detriment of intensive farming, because Van Dam large, land-based companies want to protect as much as possible. Farmers with lots of land in proportion to the number of cows – and thus do not share in the phosphate surplus – given extra duties, the ministry said. They are thus less affected by the reduction of the herd.

Averechts

Nature and environmental organizations, however, fear the opposite effect. According to them, the trade in expensive phosphate rights only in favor of very wealthy farmers with mega stalls.

‘The decision ensures that intensive farmers may expand even further and smaller dairy farmers can barely grow, “they stated in a joint press release. “By opting for tradable rights, can just wealthy, easy to expand intensive farmers. Many cows therefore soon be in a mega stall.