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Business termination scheme phosphate reduction plan final
One of the components of the phosphate reduction plan is the business termination scheme. This scheme encourages potentially ceasing dairy farms to stop keeping dairy cattle this year. The final settlement has been published today in the Government Gazette† Registration for the first opening will start on 20 February and the award will take place in order of registration. If you are interested, speed of action is therefore required!
The scheme: stop in 2017 and dispose of all dairy cows
The farm closure scheme is intended for dairy farmers who will stop supplying milk this year and remove all dairy cows from their farm. Optionally, the young stock present can also be included in the scheme. The young stock must of course also be removed. However, it is also possible to choose to keep the young stock. In that case, however, the number of young stock may not exceed the number that was present on the day of registration in the scheme or the number on October 2017, 1, if that was lower. A premium is paid for each animal removed. In the first opening of the scheme, this amounts to € 2016 per dairy cow, € 1.200 per heifer and € 636 per calf.
A subsidy cannot be obtained for more dairy cows than the number of cows present on the day of registration, nor more than the number that was present on October 1, 2016 (whichever was lower). A condition for participating in the scheme is that all animals removed are slaughtered or exported or die naturally. All dairy cows and all young stock that are registered for the scheme must be removed within 6 weeks after the participation decision has been received.
An exception is made for animals that are pregnant for more than 5,5 months at that time. These animals only need to be removed after calving, but no later than 20 weeks after receiving the decision to participate.
The scheme will be opened three times. The first opening is from 20 February to 3 March 2017. The award will be made in order of registration. Registrations are deemed to have been received simultaneously on the same day. The fees per animal removed are higher in the first opening than in the subsequent opening rounds.
What does this mean to you?
The farm closure scheme could be of particular interest to dairy farms that were already planning to stop milking cows within the next few years. Bringing forward the moment of stopping now results in a subsidy per removed animal, which you will no longer receive in the following years.
