The use of a closed filling system on spraying machines for crop protection products has been discussed for some time now. In a letter to Parliament, Agriculture Minister Piet Adema mentions January 1, 2025 as the final hard deadline for making this method mandatory. In practice, a transition period will probably follow, according to CropLife NL.
At the end of September, Minister of Agriculture Adema addressed various topics regarding crop protection, water quality, approvals and more in one Letter to Parliament. A supplement to the Living Environment Activities Decree (Environmental Act) discusses the mandatory closed filling system for field sprayers. These will become mandatory before January 1, 2025, Adema reports.
Transition period
In practice, however, the date of January 1, 2026 is also mentioned. What's up with that? This date comes from the consultation group for the closed filling system, on behalf of which advocates CropLife NL spreekt. Although their recent communication also mentions the deadline of January 1, 2025, the next sentence also states: "Collaborating parties will discuss with the government whether and how a practically feasible transition period can be provided."
According to Jo Ottenheim of Croplife NL, who is involved in the consultation group, you can interpret this sentence as meaning that the intention is to grant growers a one-year transition period. The ministry has not given any approval for this in black and white, but the group members expect that this will happen. Initially, a transition period linked to the SKL inspection was also considered, but this would mean that the introduction of the filling system would be spread over three years. That is not acceptable for the Ministry of Agriculture.
EasyConnect cap
Manufacturers of closed filling systems, product suppliers, advocates and companies have spent a lot of time promoting the technology in recent years. Most product manufacturers have joined Easyconnect. This is a special cap on the product jug that fits directly onto the filling system. This prevents spills and splashing. Ottenheim: "More than 90% of producers have joined Easyconnect, which covers the majority of the market. Users who want to continue using EasyFlow (Bayer's system) can use an adapter."
A different cap sounds simple, but according to Ottenheim, that decision has a lot of implications for the sector. The product manufacturers have to make adjustments, but filling companies also have to adjust their filling lines. Field sprayer manufacturers also need time to integrate the technology into their machines if they want to offer it ex works.
Introduction in Europe
The Netherlands is the first country to introduce the closed filling system. CropLife Europe is contributing to a Europe-wide obligation that should apply from 2023. "So we are not unique, the Netherlands is just leading the way at the moment," says Ottenheim. "It's about improving health for people and animals and improving water quality." He calls the system none game changer, but it does help.
It is not yet known when the transition period will be published in black and white. Initially, there was even talk of a deadline of January 1, 2024, but during the consultation this could be moved to 2025. Consensus was reached on this in the consultation group.