The Dutch Dairy Farmers' Union (NMV) is no longer participating in nitrogen consultations with the Ministry of Agriculture. The union says it has been removed from the consultation by the ministry. At the beginning of this month Agraction consultations have already ended.
Jeroen van Maanen, vice-chairman of the NMV, says in a statement that the ministry is probably tired of the critical notes that his organization places with regard to nitrogen policy. For example, the NMV sat on 3 working groups that discussed options for reducing nitrogen emissions. These are: More water when using manure, Less protein in the total feed ration and Stimulating more grazing. "The NMV has provided a lot of practical input for the 3 management measures in recent months, but has to conclude that little was done with them."
Decline costs/benefits
According to the organization, the breaking point in the consultation was the NMV's wish to draw up a cost/benefit analysis for all measures. "It must be clear to farmers what measures yield and what they cost. The government refuses this." The NMV therefore decided to stop participating in the working groups. "Those were already coming to an end anyway and the proposals are now heading for calculation by the PBL"
This is followed by pilots, in which, according to the NMV, the danger looms again that innovation funds intended for livestock farmers will disappear into the pockets of project and research organizations. "As a reaction to the withdrawal of the working groups, we were removed from the administrative consultation by the Ministry of LNV," said Van Maanen.
Maladministration
The NMV emphasizes in the statement that it remains a strong opponent of the nitrogen law. According to the organization, this must be removed from the table as soon as possible and the policy must be rebuilt from the ground up. According to the association, the chosen solution for PAS detectors only offers a false sense of security. "The space for this group is already in the system and should be resolved through a general pardon through administrative guts."
According to the NMV, the Aerius system is unsuitable for this. The Hordijk Commission has already ruled on this, but this conclusion is still being pushed aside. The socio-economic calculation of the nitrogen policy is also lacking and the Habitats of N2000 areas are constantly being adjusted in a non-transparent manner. "As a result, the results of the Aerius calculations always give different results. This is mismanagement."
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
