Interview Andre van Troost
'Nitrogen emissions fall a lot more with innovation'
Lely believes that more nitrogen reduction can be achieved if innovation and technical solutions are chosen. André van Troost, CEO of Lely, is working hard to reach The Hague politically. "Farmers should in any case have the opportunity to opt for innovation."
Lely, the tech giant on the milk market who was nominated last year with the Orbiter for the Agribusiness Awards van Boerenbusiness, has its own vision of the nitrogen problem and its solution. While the cabinet seems to be focusing on buying up and remediating dairy farms, Lely believes that innovation and technology are the perfect solution to the problem.
Lely has calculated that when every euro of taxpayers' money is invested in innovative barn systems, this yields 7,5 times more in nitrogen reduction than when that money is used for purchases and remediation. In other words: investing in innovative housing systems yields more nitrogen reduction than buying up and remediating companies.
André van Troost cannot immediately count the times that Lely has visited the Ministry of Agriculture in recent months, he says with a smile during an exclusive online conversation on Teams. Together with product manager Clemens Duijnisveld, the CEO explains the lobby for the Lely Sphere as an option to drastically reduce ammonia emissions on dairy farms. Without closing businesses. Lely Sphere is a circular manure valorisation system for separating and reusing mineral flows on dairy farms. The political playing field is new for the family business, says Van Troost. "We are now deploying a public affairs manager for this. A first for Lely."
You have not been much involved in these kinds of political discussions in recent years. Why are you doing that now?
Van Troost: "The answer to that question can be very simple. We think we can make great strides in solving the nitrogen problem in the Netherlands. If we couldn't contribute anything, we would have kept our mouths shut. But that is not the case. the Lely Sphere, that can achieve a significant reduction in emissions, we know we have a solution in house. And then we like to make a little more noise."
It makes sense that you want to sell the Lely Sphere. The more you sell, the higher your earnings. How do you reflect that thought?
Van Troost: "We do indeed hear this question more often. I always say: Every cow that we remove in the Netherlands is added in twofold in Asia. We realize the majority of our turnover with the sale of milking robots abroad. The Netherlands thus ensures an even higher yield abroad. After all, then we sell more milking robots there. Money is therefore not the reason for us to want to sell the Lely Sphere. We do that because this is our home country ."
The CEO continues: "We support our own farmers. They have ensured that we are now where we are. And we like to do something in return. The Netherlands is supreme when it comes to innovation. Think of the Delta Works. land of solutions. Let's take advantage of that before we say things like halving the livestock."
Nevertheless, innovation for nitrogen reduction seems to be able to count on little political support.
"I do not know whether there is little support. Parties such as the VVD and the CDA are willing to investigate whether investing in innovation is feasible. The leaked documents also indicate that halving the livestock for D66 and GroenLinks is not a hard decision. requirement. But in the end, everything is determined by the parties who are in charge. We can do no more than make it clear that we have a – in our opinion – successful innovation that shows positive results at 4 test companies."
When thinking about innovations, people often talk about a long process. It is a reason for politicians not to invest too much in it. What about the Sphere?
Clemens Duijnisveld: "We also sometimes get the feeling that innovation should take (too) long, but that is not necessarily the case. We have now completed the measurements on 3 companies and in the summer we can present a preliminary emission factor. The goal is "We still have to launch the Sphere at the end of the third quarter. That now also has to land on the offices of the agriculture ministry. They have to see it as an option for the dairy farmer who wants to continue." He continues: "There is a lot of enthusiasm for our product and we now have a long waiting list. We have to choose between stopping or continuing in an innovative way. It is clear to us what the farmer is opting for."
Suppose that political The Hague responds to this solution. How do you envision the large-scale introduction?
Duijnisveld: "When we get that opportunity, we as Lely can quickly switch and reset our priorities. By means of, for example, a subsidy, such as the Subsidy modules source-oriented sustainability of stable and management measures (Sbv), we can make great strides. to focus first on the bottlenecks and the areas where the need is greatest, such as in North Brabant. After that, it is an opportunity to also help the less necessary regions with innovation, because we cannot roll out 1.000 units in one year."
But Lely can scale up quickly in the long run. "Our new building that we are realizing here at our home base in Maassluis is also not for nothing. It is not intended to build more milking robots," adds Van Troost jokingly.
It is actually a matter of innovating for survival rather than improving returns?
Duijnisveld: "Yes and no. Of course you also have to look at the health of your livestock and the mineral flow on the farm. This investment certainly has more benefits, but at the moment we do not have sufficient evidence to substantiate this. simply needs more research." Van Troost adds: "You should also not forget the consumer. Is he willing to pay more for a more sustainable product? If I look at various other flows, such as PlanetProof, then that is and remains a difficult point."
How can the innovation land in practice?
Van Troost: "I would like to report that those who want to stop should certainly just do so. If you do not have a successor, then buy-out can be a great solution. For us it concerns the forced quitters. Farmers must also be able to opt for innovation if they want to continue farming. For example, for PAS detectors or dairy farms close to a Natura 2000 area, the Sphere can be a solution, because there is no need to say goodbye to such a beautiful sector, in which we are a global player. We now have to wait until the message has arrived in The Hague and is absorbed. Unfortunately, we have less control over that."
Kimberly Baker
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