Interview Will Meulenbroeks
'Working together yes, but not immediately celebrating success'
Visibility in the advocacy is good and necessary for the grassroots, but measuring every success immediately is punished by counteractions by NGOs, says chairman of the LTO Dairy Farming Department Wil Meulenbroeks in an interview with Boerenbusiness. The fickleness of politics does not make effective work easy either. Meulenbroeks likes to join forces with other farmers' clubs, he says, but in one context something like this is quickly less effective.
The question whether it is not a bit quiet around the LTO dairy farming department initially provokes a defensive reaction from Meulenbroeks. There was no shortage of activities. The department is involved in all kinds of consultations and is fully engaged in advocacy, he says.
"An enormous amount of time was spent on the nitrogen dossier. After LNV's feed track was off the table, we started working on our own plans. The Sustainable Balance (DE) and the Coalition for the Future-oriented Dairy Farming (CTM) are always the only plans that have a good At the moment we are up to our ears in the 7e action program (Nitrates Directive) and the lobby for maintaining derogation. In addition, we had started with physical member meetings, but now corona is throwing a spanner in the works for the umpteenth time." If the department has not been very visible for a while, he will confirm that.
LTO Dairy Farming does not have the profile of an action group and it is not the easiest time to promote interests. In any case, it is not so that it is also appreciated positively. "People often know very well what not to do, but what to do? Everyone has a different opinion about that, it seems. In addition, there are quite a few challenges for dairy farming and the industry is firmly in the crosshairs of all kinds of NGOs."
Normally, an outside challenge or a concerted opponent causes the ranks to close. You don't notice that in dairy farming?
"I think that is partly due to the enormous diversity in the industry. Some people see a greater danger in, for example, nitrogen or sustainability requirements than others. Also, the margins are becoming smaller and therefore the sensitivities greater. I am in favor of collaboration where it is possible, but if the question arises whether we should not return to one agricultural collective, I say: That is a utopia. Unless organizations are prepared to put themselves aside. And then there are still farmers who say: I will let my sound don't dilute in one club."
Clear, but why isn't there more collective common sense?
"I'm surprised about that too. That we don't prioritize better and that we don't give ourselves too much credit when we have achieved another success. We should focus more on achieving bigger goals in silence. each and every one of them measures every small success in detail, the NGOs say the next day: "That will not happen again. That is why I am arguing for good mutual consultation between all agricultural organizations, but not one joint action. To indicate where I am going want, I will give an example from about thirty years ago. When we in Brabant had to deal with a new environmental ordinance. This caused a great deal of unrest among the Kempen farmers and we set up the action group Het Kemphaantje. It consulted weekly with the board of the NCB, but each had his own role. That model of the 'good guy' and the 'bad guy' worked perfectly. We achieved a result that everyone could live with. Why is this no longer possible? Often I have the ind It seems that parties are perhaps more involved with each other than with the goal they want to achieve."
What is your idea of good advocacy?
"Achieving goals that are achievable for the majority of the grassroots, both for the stayers and for the quitters. You will never be able to do it right for everyone. If you are in a negotiation process, you don't have to wait for everyone to agree is, but you have to be careful not to think too far ahead or get detached from the basics."
What threatened AgriNL?
"Máxima would say: That was a bit stupid. On the other hand, the periphery (processing, supply, etc.) also has an interest, and they can also stand up for that."
The policy of that periphery does not always run parallel to that of the primary sector. You can, for example, wonder whether everyone is still running so hard for the more intensive dairy farming on the sand. Companies there sometimes have a hard time hooking up...
"For that reason, I argue for the recognition of neighborhood contracts, for example. This makes extensification easier to achieve and also better meets the requirements of PlanetProof. On the other hand, extensification is not a magic word. Some companies are even too extensive for PlanetProof."
Where are the biggest problems at the moment?
"The 3500 companies that do not have their license in order and must be legalized are acute. Their problems do not stop with that license alone. They also have to deal with financing problems. This is a result of the tightened banking regulations, by the so-called Basel agreements, which state that banks are not allowed to finance illegal practices."
Is it really that hard to play?
"It is being looked at more and more closely. Banks are increasingly feeling the pressure of the regulators. For the PAS companies, this means that the business succession, which is already difficult, becomes even more complicated there. It is high time we got there." to arrange something. Business successors are already delaying the takeover as much as possible, and not out of luxury, but because there is almost no other option. Even business terminations do not stop farming, because of the tax authorities. That is why we are arguing for an adjustment of the tax system There should be an agricultural-oriented exemption to enable a more tax-friendly transfer, of course in such a way that no change of destination takes place or that parties from outside the agricultural sector join in."
Business takeover is not only more difficult for tax reasons, is it? There is no longer any banking competition and matters such as location and permits also determine to a large extent whether a company still has prospects.
"That's right. There used to be some competition between local banks, but now everything is centrally arranged. In addition, there should be more stability in regulations, as they are trying in Brabant with the new draft policy framework. The problem is that long-term policy in the relative lee of the province can still succeed, but hardly in The Hague, where the morning news dominates the political impulses and there is the lobby of the NGOs."
Why is everyone so afraid of the NGOs?
"That way we have a lot of influence on politics."
Disproportionate?
"I think so. Look at the Party for the Animals. In the Animal Act, which has been amended on their behalf, it is stated that animals must be able to display their own species behaviour. In addition, they state that plant-based food is the norm, which means that they believe that eating animal products is not normal, they completely ignore the specific behavior of humans, so the animal is put above humans, and people are forced to defend themselves in the media why they still eat meat. that their practical behavior is not much. It is also difficult to get a platform for our arguments. That's the atmosphere."
In the meantime, dairy farming still has a few tasks to choose from, doesn't it?
"The tasks are gigantic. Until the new climate goals that have now been agreed at the world climate summit, we would have achieved our tasks in that area nicely. I do expect an acceleration now. My concern is that very difficult tasks will then be set. worry, because then there is a risk that things will drag on, just like with manure and nitrogen."
And farmers are accused of doing nothing…
"That accusation is so unjustified. They want to, as long as they know what the direction is."
You have been chairman of the dairy farming department for five years now. What do you think is the most difficult task?
"Really focusing on the long term, but the short term problems, you just can't get over that."
You also started with that commitment, if I remember correctly.
"That's right, if the government and politics are always focused on the short term, it is difficult to focus on the long term as a farmer or advocate."
Klaas van der Horst
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