Farmers Defense Force: LTO top not tenable

UPDATE - Farmers Defense Force (FDF) wonders whether the LTO executive can stay on. That is what spokesperson Jeroen van Maanen says. The farmers' movement is deeply disappointed in LTO leader Marc Calon, who says that LTO wants to discuss nitrogen policy with Minister Carola Schouten, while the Agricultural Collective has stopped talks.

Calon said this before this week in an interview with De Volkskrant† In it he also made it clear that the Agricultural Collective is under discussion. "We are therefore looking at whether and how we should proceed with the Agricultural Collective." With his statements Calon has sharpened the relationships within the collective. Internally, all 13 parties within the collective have agreed that they will always work together externally. 

According to Van Maanen, "Every morning, Calon must ask himself for what purpose he is in that place: to serve the farmers' interests. And farmers' interests are not served by sowing divisions and undermining the Agricultural Collective." He finds Calon dropping his own people. He mainly advocates for regional LTO administrators and for Trienke Elshof, portfolio holder for a healthy environment at LTO Nederland. With Elshof and Aalt Dijkhuizen, the chairman of the Agricultural Collective, Van Maanen formed the negotiating delegation in the talks with Prime Minister Rutte and Minister Schouten.

Administrative LTO top
FDF is questioning the position of Calon and also the administrative top of LTO, says Van Maanen in a response. "A chairman of LTO who squanders the farmers' interests should only do one thing: get on with it. And stop costing hard-working LTO'ers energy and shit. And with him those who still keep their hands over their heads." When asked, Van Maanen refers to board members Dirk Bruins (chairman LTO Noord), Wim Bens (chairman ZLTO) and Hans van den Heuvel (director LTO Netherlands).

No substantive comments
Despite repeated urging, LTO Nederland has decided not to respond extensively to Calon's interview and the Farmers Defense Force's appeal. The organization reports in a short written response: "Last night (Thursday) good discussions were held in the Agricultural Collective. LTO Nederland acts on the basis of decisions of its own meeting of department chairmen and portfolio holders." It is as yet unclear what the outcome of the talks in the Agricultural Collective was.

Linda Janssen, chairman of the Producers Organization Pig Farming (POV), has no desire to respond. As far as the POV is concerned, the commonality of the Agricultural Collective is paramount. Chairman Aalt Dijkhuizen does not communicate with the press about complications in the nitrogen dossier and therefore not now. He says he does this in the interest of the farmers.

Update: LTO North contradicts
Remarkably enough, LTO or foreman Calon did not provide a further explanation, but the LTO North directors Bruins, Elshof, Ben Haarman and Nico Verduin informed members in a message that the contribution of LTO within the Agricultural Collective is not under discussion. "LTO will continue to work through input via the Agricultural Collective to reach an agreement together." 

The directors also emphasize that the Agricultural Collective, as agreed from the start, is a temporary collaboration between the parties in the nitrogen dossier. "It has been agreed to work together until the final letter to parliament, which is expected shortly. This letter is seen as the final piece of the national negotiations, after which the elaboration will take place in the provinces. Whether the Agricultural Collective will then go further is still unknown. various parties in the Agricultural Collective have indicated that they are considering their position."

They emphasize that, even without an Agricultural Collective, both LTO and LTO Noord will continue to work together with the parties to bring dossiers to the best possible conclusion. "We are already sitting around the table in every province, hopefully with constructive partners."

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