The manure market is currently very volatile. Politically, much is at stake, with manure sales opportunities for the coming years being a key focus. Crucially, the eighth Nitrates Directive action program must take effect on January 1, 2026. For now, this political debate has no direct impact on manure prices, although market sentiment appears to be shifting. Meanwhile, the decline in the market for alternative processing agreements (ASAs) continues unabated.
The DCA manure quotation remains relatively stable this week compared to recent weeks. However, as the end of the year approaches, regional sentiment is shifting, something that wasn't necessarily anticipated. A recurring theme throughout the year is that the supply of manure in the Central Netherlands region has been quite depressing. There are still cattle farmers in those regions who need to dispose of significant quantities of manure before the end of the year. According to an intermediary, in such cases, it's simply necessary to raise prices slightly to ensure proper disposal of the manure.
As 2026 approaches, market signals are emerging that manure still needs to be removed. These aren't just a few "emergency loads" before the start of the spreading season, but rather more regular volumes, simply to prevent manure pits from overflowing. Regional pressure due to the continued supply isn't translating into higher collection fees in Central Netherlands this week. Both pig manure and cattle manure remain the same as last week, at €36,33 and €35,83 per cubic meter, respectively.
The South of the Netherlands clearly has more lighting
In the south of the Netherlands, pressure on the manure market is considerably lower. The supply of manure is manageable and can also be disposed of much more quickly, according to a manure intermediary. Intermediaries currently expect this situation to continue towards the start of the spreading season. The DCA collection fee in the south of the Netherlands this week is €32,83 per cubic meter for pig manure. For cattle manure, the collection fee is €30,33 per cubic meter.
The DCA quotation for Substitute Processing Agreements (DCAs) fell further this week to €0,50 per kilo, €0,20 lower than last week. This means the price currently stands at a new low. The previous record low dates back to 2020, when the market dropped to €0,52 per kilo at the end of the year. This decline is again attributed to the relatively low manure processing rate above the major rivers, where manure is most abundant.
Political debate surrounding manure policy
Then there's the debate in The Hague, where Minister of Agriculture Femke Wiersma is adamant that the eighth Nitrates Directive action program will take effect on January 1st. The current standard is 170 kg of nitrogen per hectare, but the proposed system will apply a nitrogen ceiling per plot combined with crop standards, which are essentially no longer practical because they are based on historical averages and don't reflect plots with consistently high yields.
A key element of the debate concerns NV areas, where a 20% reduction in application standards currently applies, while years of measurements show that water quality in many places is well below the standard of 50 mg nitrate per liter. The proposal is to abolish NV status in areas with demonstrably good water quality, so that farmers can once again work according to regular fertilization standards.
The ultimate goal remains balanced fertilization, where fertilization is based on the crop's actual needs and takes into account what has already been removed, but this principle has largely been abandoned. A particularly problematic aspect is that Wageningen University & Research (WUR) only considers animal manure for 55% of crop needs, which in practice leads to structural underfertilization and a skewed nutrient balance. While the minister understood this criticism, this standard remains in place.