LTO Netherlands leaves the Agricultural Collective

LTO Nederland has left the Agricultural Collective. The representative considers himself insufficiently represented within the monster association of 13 farmers' organizations. Moreover, the differences of opinion within the collective have become too high.

Marc Calon, chairman of LTO Nederland, and the three chairmen of LTO Noord, ZLTO and LLTB hinted at this in an extensive letter to members. This shows that there is division within the collective about the course to be followed, after agriculture minister Carola Schouten presented her nitrogen policy in a letter to the House of Representatives. According to the chairmen, there is also a group that wants the parties to come to "compulsory agreements under the direction of the Agricultural Collective".

Fundamental Differences
The space for other opinions and personal accents is limited in this, LTO notes. "Various other parties such as LTO Nederland opt for a looser and more informal collaboration." Over the past period, LTO has regularly clashed, also publicly, with Farmers Defense Force, among others. The LTO foremen put it this way: "It is no secret that there has been a lot of discussion both in front of and behind the scenes of the Agricultural Collective. About content, tone, accent and style. That is no surprise. more than 13 different agricultural organizations. The vision on how agricultural advocacy should be structured often differs fundamentally."

LTO is now picking up its trusted strategy for the Agricultural Collective. "As LTO, we have a distinctive profile that our members consciously choose; connecting, on the content and from a large network that has been built up in recent years." However, an emphasis is being shifted, the chairmen report. "Of course we also learn from the past. We realize that sometimes we have to be sharper and clearer, even when the compromise has turned out to be the highest achievable."

Unity and togetherness
The foremen seem to realize that the departure of LTO from the Agricultural Collective will not go down well with every agricultural entrepreneur. "The Agricultural Collective evokes a feeling of unity and togetherness in many farmers. That feeling is understandable. 'Strong together' is a deep-rooted wish from the cooperative roots of the sector that we share as LTO organisations."

It is still unclear what will happen to the Agricultural Collective. LTO emphatically opts, diplomatically puts it, to only work with fellow interest representatives that it also likes. "We want to continue to work with all parties that are constructively committed to the nitrogen dossier on the basis of equal goals and values."

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