The government is spending billions to shrink the livestock industry, but in the meantime 'big agro' is spending a lot of money to steal companies from under the government's nose. That was the gist of a report that NOS aired this week.
The state broadcaster had obtained the signal about the purchase from Omroep Gelderland, which had heard that the VanDrie Group and Klaremelk were buying up calf farms on the Veluwe. Something that was already known in the corridors, but has now also been confirmed by the companies. Not only the companies mentioned do this, but also others.
Minister for Freedom of Choice
The NOS almost made it sound like sabotage of government policy, but Minister Wiersma of LVVN reacted relaxed. She believes that farmers should be able to choose who they want to sell their stables to. She also believes that companies in the agribusiness sector are free to buy up valuable stables for them. The NOS does mention that other parties have also bought up farms for their own interests, such as Schiphol and even Rijkswaterstaat.
Nitrogen lawsuit
On the same day that the NOS came out with the buyout story, another statement was made by the Hague court, although general media may not pick up on this signal. In the main proceedings between Greenpeace and the State, the Stichting Stikstofclaim (SSC) also participated as a third party interested on behalf of the farmers. Chairman Jan Cees Vogelaar explained there, under protest from MOB lawyer Valentijn Wösten, how farmers are being driven by government policy in recent years and by 'hunting' clubs such as MOB. Farmers sometimes really don't know what to do out of desperation, he explained.
One of the paths that farmers are also taking (at least, those who can) is that they are going to use every bit of unused production space that they have, for fear that, for example, MOB will take it away. Or that a province will do that. Noord-Brabant announced this week that it wants to take away all unused production rights by 2026. That will probably be a legal battle, but the stakes are clear. In these cases, anti-livestock farming groups are causing exactly what they do not want. Farmers are going to expand and produce more because they want to prevent other parties from threatening to take away their property in the coming years. It is not because they want it themselves, or were ready for it, but their position is threatened and then action must be taken.
Exactly the same thing has happened in recent years in the dairy goat farming industry. Due to fear of Q fever and the arrival of possible 'mega companies', goat farmers could hardly build a new stable anywhere. Even though the earnings were good. Nevertheless, production was increased significantly, because all existing permits were filled up quickly. Why? Out of fear of future restrictions and possible objections from action groups such as MOB.
Market is attractive
Back to the veal farming. At the same time that the government wants to buy up companies for nitrogen reduction, other parties are also in the market to buy up valuable modern stables in particular. Why? Because the beef market is currently good and not only in the Netherlands. Companies that are involved in the production of young beef earn well. That does not only apply to Van Drie, and it is also no disgrace. This also happens in the egg sector.
Stable gone, permit gone
To secure the chain, they buy well-equipped stables. Not only because of the stable, but also because of the production location, because when the stable is gone, the permit is often gone. The farmer is not always gone. Sometimes an integration buys a stable, but the farmer or a family member stays there. As an employee, yes, but there is still work. In the meantime, the increase in scale in livestock farming continues. That is also precisely not what all kinds of action groups want, but they do want to strengthen it together with the government.