News Phosphate rights
Fraud with dry cows and Kringloopwijzer?
The risk of fraud is still too great, which is why there will be no pilot of the Kringloopwijzer for the time being. Carola Schouten, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, made this known in response to questions about phosphate rights. She considers fraud with dry cows less likely.
What is the status of phosphate rights? Minister Schouten answered a number of questions in a letter to parliament burning questions. At the same time, she again indicated that the regulations surrounding the phosphate bank and the exemption for young stock that will never calve (beef cattle) is still in the making.
Profit from phosphate right still nil
An important subject that the VVD (through Helma Lodders) raises is the pilot of the Kringloopwijzer. The system of phosphate rights is set up in such a way that dairy farmers can do more with fewer rights (by focusing on phosphate); otherwise animal rights would have sufficed. To make this possible, the Recycle pointer necessary, but therein lies the crux. When Schouten discovered that 'fraud' had been committed with the I&R administration she immediately canceled the pilot.
Now the VVD asks whether the trial can still go ahead, because it turned out that the fraud mainly consisted of administrative irregularities. Schouten thinks otherwise, however. "If the financial gain is great enough, then there is simply an incentive to register the data incorrectly. This risk is also present when the Kringloopwijzer determines the amount of manure produced."
This opinion is also supported by the advice of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). He states that the Kringloopwijzer cannot yet be enforced. "I do not foresee that a pilot of the Kringloopwijzer, in relation to the phosphate rights, can be started in the short term," says Schouten
Feed up close
A pilot requested by the CDA is about 'feed from close by'. This in the context of the binding advice on land-relatedness, but the minister cannot anticipate that yet. Schouten does say that the importance of 'feed up close' is a relevant subject. It is therefore an aspect that will be considered when reviewing the fertilizer regulations. Its not about feed-manure agreements, because there she sticks to her position: they will not come.
Everything revolves around preventing data and animal tampering. In this context, the VVD asked the question whether it is true that dry cows, when placed in another company, evade the phosphate legislation. Schouten responds: "Phosphate rights are also needed for the dry cows. At the moment I have no concrete signals that dry cows are being housed elsewhere on a large scale." If this does happen, the company where the animals are kept still needs rights.
Overview of bottlenecks
Other developments are lacking, apart from an overview of the bottlenecks. This is 2.400. In addition, the group is actually even larger, because there are still issues surrounding transfer situations. This group will be expanded with 61 appeals and 15 preliminary injunctions. Another 6.000 businesses have objected to the decision. It means that slightly more 25% of dairy farmers do not agree with the decision.
There are also several hundred companies in the beef farming sector that have applied for the granting of phosphate rights retrospectively. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) will not do anything about this until the details of the exemption scheme are known.
Yet another group is the 10.000 dairy farmers who objected to the 2017 phosphate reduction plan. 3.000 of these farmers appealed to a special situation. At the end of July, Schouten hopes that the objections have been dealt with. With regard to the sums of money that may be imposed, the minister indicates that he will take the decisiveness of the entrepreneur into account.
Generic discount?
Has all uncertainty disappeared when the cases of this rather large group of livestock farmers have been dealt with? New. Schouten emphasizes that if the phosphate ceiling in 2018 is exceeded, a solution will first be sought with the sector. However, if this does not meet the requirements, a generic discount may follow. The tension here is between the issuance of the number of rights and the calculated production by CBS† The second is too high and thus perpetuates the uncertainty.
Herman van den Pol
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