Emigration picks up due to land and phosphate prices

Due to the high phosphate and land prices, there is more interest in emigration. Now that the money for phosphate rights can be collected, it is not just a matter of interest. This was also apparent at the Interfarms information evenings on emigration.

After a long period in which only a few farmers emigrated, interest is now picking up. Frits Bennink, director of Interfarms, estimates that interest in emigration has increased by about 2015% to 25% since 30. "Of course, this has everything to do with the regulations surrounding the phosphate rights system. The policy of various dairy farmers, which focuses on limited growth, also plays a role."

Value of land and phosphate rights
That the value of land and phosphate rights is now at a high level could be an important reason to sell and move on elsewhere. "The price of land has risen again and it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve a sufficient return on land." The director and broker also notices that 20 years ago emigrating was still 'fun', but now mainly stems from the negativity about the regulations in the Netherlands.

Much more has changed in the past 20 years. "Where Canada was the promised land at the time, this is less the case now. Interest in emigrating to the country is increasing slightly, but Canada is relatively expensive. That has everything to do with the milk quota. phosphate rights can, however, eliminate a substantial part of this difference."

There is also another problem, namely 'the business visa'. "The so-called 'self-employed visa' is usually fairly easy to apply for, but the program has been closed for almost 1 year now. In some cases there are other options (provincial), but these routes are more difficult to realize. Our subsidiary Visa4you expect that it should soon be possible to apply for this visa again," says Bennink.

Germany and Denmark
Germany and Denmark are currently the most popular countries. That is, by the way, easy to explain. "For farmers who are now emigrating, these countries are easy to drive to. In addition, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse have relatively cheap land price from €10.000 to €15.000 per hectare, and the region is just about around the corner."

In Denmark the price is somewhat higher (€16.000 to €26.000 per hectare), but in that country, for example, good land for potato cultivation can be purchased for €20.000 per hectare. "We see that in the past Denmark was only interesting for dairy farmers, but there is now also interest from arable farmers. This is partly due to the Danish land price. The further this price is from the price in the Netherlands, the more interesting the country becomes for the Dutch. .

Interest from arable farmers
It is not only in Denmark that there is increasing interest from arable farmers. There is also a remarkable amount of interest among arable farmers in other countries. This is partly due to the high land prices in the Netherlands. "A farmer with 2 sons, who both want to work in the company, can hardly calculate that with the current prices. With the value of the Dutch company, he may be able to do that abroad," says Bennink.

At the information evening of Interfarms It turned out that Slovakia is a country with a lot of potential. "The price of land in the country is around €6.000 to about €11.000 per hectare. Slovakia is now a relatively modern country. That applies especially to the west side, near the border with Austria."

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

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