News livestock
Dairy sector again under nitrogen ceiling
The excretion of nitrogen in animal manure was 473,7 million kilos last year. That is almost 16 million kilos less than in 2020 and more than 6% below the nitrogen ceiling that the European Union has set for Dutch livestock. The dairy sector fell under the ceiling for the second time since the abolition of the milk quota in 2015. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
The phosphate excretion last year amounted to 149 million kilos. That is 1,8 million kilos less than one year earlier and 14% below the phosphate ceiling of 172,9 million kilos. It is the fourth consecutive year that nitrogen excretion has fallen below the ceiling of 504,4 million kilos. Since 2017, nitrogen excretion from livestock has decreased by 38 million kilograms.
The largest contribution to the decrease (26 million kilos) comes from dairy farming. Mainly by keeping fewer cows and young stock. The dairy sector excreted 277,7 million kilos of nitrogen last year, which is 3% less than in 2020. The nitrogen excretion of the dairy sector has therefore fallen below the production ceiling of 281,8 million kilos for this sector. Since the milk quota was abolished in 2015, this is the second time that the sector has fallen below the nitrogen ceiling. At 73,7 million kilos - virtually the same as in 2020 - the phosphate production of the dairy sector is well below the ceiling of 84,9 million kilos.
The fact that less nitrogen, but the same amount of phosphate is produced, is due to the composition of animal feed. Silage that was fed last year consists partly of the 2020 grass harvest and partly of the 2021 crop. The nitrogen content of 2021 was low. The phosphorus content of the grass was actually higher in 2021. Weather conditions resulted in relatively high nitrogen levels and low phosphorus levels in the grass in the period from 2017 to 2020. In addition, less nitrogen-poor silage maize was available in recent years, due to a shrinking maize acreage. As a result, the proportion of nitrogen-rich grass increased.
Fewer meat and breeding pigs
The nitrogen and phosphate excretion of pigs and poultry is mainly related to the number of animals. Excretion has decreased further in the past five years due to a decrease in animal numbers. The nitrogen excretion from the pig sector decreased by 2021 million kilos (4%) in 4,3 to 87,8 million kilos. The phosphate excretion decreased by 1,6 million kilos to 35 million kilos. The number of finishing pigs fell by more than 3% and the number of breeding pigs by almost 6%. The nitrogen and phosphate that pigs produce have been below the production ceilings since 2016
Linda van Eekeres
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