Rejected calf biggest problem
'Minister, solve chaos around cattle fraud'
Most of the blocked dairy farms have been blocked by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) because of errors with rejected calves. This is evident from the many emails that Boerenbusiness has received. Part of this group also saw things go wrong with the reports via the Rendac.
On February 8, RVO.nl announced that 2.100 cattle farmers have been blocked because of cattle fraud. Individual calves were also blocked. On Sunday 11 February, it was revealed that 150 farms and 900 calves had been unblocked.
Removing blockade no end to stress
Although the relief of the unblocked companies is great, the frustration surrounding the case is no less great. For example, a reader stated that he had serious doubts about the sources used by RVO.nl. "For example, they have no milk production data and no data on inseminations, because until November there was always a bull between the cows. And if they have not received the stillbirth notification, how do they know that the animal has calved?"
Another dairy farmer: "Being wrongfully labeled as a fraud is of course not nothing." The letter of apology is welcome, but of course this should not happen. Another: "Let's hope that the well-meaning farmers get their farms unblocked again as soon as possible, without unpleasant consequences."
Rejected calf
About half of the responses that Boerenbusiness has shown that rejected calves cause many problems. There was not always a cadaver that could be taken to Rendac. If a dead calf was reported and it was taken to Rendac, it did not always go well with the passing on of the calf data. Even more difficult are the scenarios in which the heifer was purchased and the calf was born on the previous farm.
Twins cause confusion on only a handful of companies. For example, on a single farm the twins were counted twice, because each calf of a twin was included separately. As a result, for example, there were not 2 twins, but 4. There are also farms with heifers older than 27 months that did not have a calf. That age was reduced to 24 months, because 27 months only applies to the phosphate reduction plan. This should indemnify these companies, but it is not clear whether this has actually happened.
Errors at RVO.nl
Finally, on Wednesday 15 February, it turned out that mistakes are being made at RVO.nl. For example, a reader indicates that he is blocked on the basis of heifers that simply have calving data in the RVO.nl system and whose offspring is known. The reason for making an appeal to Minister Carola Schouten: "Minister, resolve this chaos."
Boerenbusiness would like to thank everyone who has commented. If the situation at your company deviates from the scenarios outlined, please report via editorial@boerenbusiness. Nl† Your email will be treated confidentially. In the meantime, other organizations are also taking note of the fate of the dairy farmers and are collecting the responses.
Herman van den Pol
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