Waiting for stopper regulation and phosphate reduction

January passed quietly and February presented itself, but a letter to parliament about the elaboration of the stopping scheme in favor of phosphate reduction was not forthcoming. There was also no report on the progress of the file, but it is expected that it will not take long.'A week', hopes Kees Romijn, head of dairy farming at LTO.    

State Secretary Martijn van Dam promised in December to come up with a letter at the end of January, in which the stopper arrangement will be explained. There was also a promise that it would then become clearer about the progress of the phosphate dossier. This turned out to be an unattainable promise, because the official mills in Brussels do not turn so fast. There is also the question of a ministerial regulation.  

Romijn indicates that all parties involved are still aware that clarity must be provided as soon as possible. On December 30, Van Dam announced that it would no longer guarantee the scheme via a General Binding Declaration (AVV), but would opt for a ministerial regulation. 

'As a result, the scheme has partly been removed from ZuivelNL and transferred to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). It has its pros and cons. This instills confidence in the European Union (EU) with regard to the legal underpinnings.' It also means that it is easier to explain to the competition authority. 'The disadvantage is that everything has to be converted into a scheme.'

But there is another intermediate step that must be taken. Brussels has to give its approval. “Although approval may be too positive. A 'no objection' is needed.' 

How long everything will take remains to be seen, but Romijn estimates that more will be known before mid-February. He advises dairy farmers to wait for the regulation, so that it is clear what is allowed and what is not, before taking steps. 'Because the plans are now turning into a ministerial regulation, there is room to improve things.' Romijn therefore advises against participating in speculation, although he understands that dairy farmers would like to know where they stand.  

The fact is that the longer you wait, the shorter the time to achieve the decline. In addition, the later action is taken, the more must be done to prevent the production of more phosphate than the requirement in the derogation allows.

An element that will also be guaranteed by a ministerial regulation is the stopper regulation. 'A reasonably interesting arrangement for a large group of livestock farmers.' But what exactly it contains will only be made public when Van Dam announces this in a letter to the House.

Time plays an even greater role here. This is because this is a major step that entrepreneurs probably want to think about first. 'These are companies that have sometimes been in the family for generations. Moreover, there is a lot to consider when a company is terminated.'

For now, we have to wait until Van Dam will release more information about the phosphate reduction scheme. 

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