News Soil management
'Soil label can provide financial benefits'
Vitens, ASR and Rabobank want to develop a soil label. This label will take the form of the well-known energy label for houses. This should give farmers a better understanding of the soil.
The aim of the label is better soil management and affordable groundwater extraction. In concrete terms, however, it remains unclear which factors are included in the benthic life. Inquiries show, for example, that the organic matter content of a soil can be included in order to determine the soil quality of the soil.
The amount of crop protection products and fertilizers in the soil can also be a factor in the label, according to Caroline van der Veeken, spokesperson for Vitens. This is especially important for Vitens, because in this way they can keep the drinking water supply affordable. Van der Veeken explains that if no polluted substances enter the groundwater, they do not have to be removed.
Financial advantages
A quality assessment will be given on the basis of the information. This label not only gives farmers a better insight into the soil, but Vitens, ASR and Rabobank also get a better picture of it. "In this way, the soil label can become a means of offering farmers, who take good care of their land, financial benefits," according to the parties.
An example of such an advantage is a more favorable interest rate for farmers who are demonstrably better at managing their soil. Rewards through the more results-oriented Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could also be given through this system in the future.
Too little data
Such a label has already been investigated, but at the time it was concluded that ASR, Vitens and Rabobank had too little data. That is why the parties are appealing to participate in the initiative.
When asked whether a complex soil can be quantified in a label, Van der Veeken indicates that this is the intention. The aim is therefore to provide a real-time overview of the soil quality. Better soil management is also something that is high on the agenda of the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
Anne-Jan Doorn
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