There will be no longer spreading period for manure, or any other solution to the current manure problem. The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) does not use the solutions proposed by the trade organization Cumela, according to a 'much too late' informal response from The Hague.
Due to the wet spring and the phasing out of the derogation, the manure placement space has decreased considerably this year and the manure supply has therefore increased. This has created an oversupply in the manure market, which has relaxed somewhat in recent years. To alleviate the hectic pace on the manure market, Cumela requested the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in mid-July to lend a helping hand to the manure sector. The trade organization asked, among other things, to increase the maximum nitrogen space of crops that could still be fertilized in the summer. Extending the spreading season was also mentioned as a possible solution to save time.
A disgrace
However, LNV does not want to go along with the proposed solutions, or anything along those lines. This is evident from an informal response from the government, which, according to the trade association, said it received it quite some time late. Johan Mostert, fertilizer section chairman at Cumela, calls it a shame. "We have submitted several possible solutions to find some relief in the current fertilizer market. We requested a response by a certain date so that the sector had enough time to take advantage of this. So this has not been complied with at all ."
After a long wait, it became clear yesterday (Thursday, August 31) that the LNV is leaving the fertilizer market out in the cold. The LNV took six weeks to reach a conclusion. "In the end, I was informed informally yesterday that the LNV will not do anything with our possible solutions. I have not even seen the formal letter with response and substantiation at all. That has yet to come." Nevertheless, Mostert is not surprised by this attitude. "I didn't expect anything different from the way things have gone now, given the experiences I have with the people at LNV."
High fertilizer prices
The no from The Hague will definitely not bring any relief to the overcrowded manure market. In recent weeks, a lot of manure has been spread due to favorable conditions, but this has not or hardly alleviated the manure market, insiders indicate. The supply of both cattle and pig slurry remains high. The DCA collection contributions have continued to increase in recent weeks. There has been no usual summer dip this year.