Farmer is entitled to success of phosphate reduction

Dairy farming has managed to turn the tide in terms of phosphate production. The CBS forecast for the second quarter of 2018 even shows an undershoot. The Dutch Agricultural Youth Contact (NAJK) is now asking to give that space back to the farmers.

From the second quarter 2018 monitor, compiled by CBS, shows that the dairy herd has declined across the board. This is a trend that will continue towards the end of the third quarter, as can be concluded from slaughter figures from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) and reports from the field.

More milk per cow
The average milk production per cow rose to 8.840 kilos per cow. If this trend continues, a production of 8.900 kg per cow is possible by the end of 2018. The small changes in the feed compensate each other reasonably well, resulting in a forecast of 80,7 million kilos of phosphate. It is also expected that the prognosis for the third quarter (based on fewer animals) will turn out to be even more positive.

The NAJK is now asking for the space that has been created to be returned to the dairy farmers. The representative makes the proposal to initiate a national equalization, such as from the time of the quota. This is necessary, because for a long time there was uncertainty about the bottleneck arrangement. "In addition, many dairy farms will not know which excretion class they fall into until December 2018."

Uncertainty remains
"It is positive that we have managed to stay below the national ceiling, but there is still a lot of uncertainty. As a young farmer with high financing costs, it is difficult to make good choices when the future is uncertain," explains Marije Klever, portfolio holder dairy farming at NAJK.

The sector suffered a setback on 14 September when Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) the motion by Jaco Geurts (CDA) and Helma Lodders (VVD). "We had hoped that leasing without skimming would give room for young dairy farmers. Many are now getting into a bind. Leasing means skimming, buying is expensive and the fine is still unclear."

There are still mixed voices in the field about that fine, but usually the fines in pig farming are looked at. This would mean that if the amount is exceeded, it would in any case involve large amounts.

Herman van den Pol

Herma van den Pol has been with us since 2011 Boerenbusiness and has developed over the years into a market expert Milk & Feed. In addition, she can be seen weekly in the market flash about the dairy market.

h.vandenpol@boerenbusiness. Nl

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