Derogation 2019: what are the rules of the game?

For the year 2019, 2 new conditions apply when applying for a derogation. Firstly, a fee of €50 must be paid for applying for one derogation permit. In 2018, registration for a derogation was canceled and people had to apply for a permit instead.

Secondly, the condition for tearing/destroying grassland for maize cultivation (only on sandy and loess soil) changes. Per hectare of cracked or destroyed soil, a discount of 65 kilos applies to the nitrogen use standard. There is no nitrogen sampling obligation.

Terms & conditions
The 'Additional farmer data 2018' must be submitted no later than January 31, 2019 and the data for 2019 must be received by January 31, 2020. A minimum of 2019% grassland on the company also applies for 80; These plots must be used continuously as grassland from May 15 to September 15.

The fertilization plan must also be submitted to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) on January 31, 2019. Any change to this plan must be reported within 7 days. In addition, derogation companies are not allowed to use phosphate fertilizer.

If grassland (sandy and loess soil) is torn or destroyed after May 31, a discount of 50 kilos per hectare applies to the nitrogen use standard; except when this is done for corn cultivation, in which case the discount is 65 kilos. There is no nitrogen sampling obligation after tearing the grassland. The intention to tear up grassland must be reported to RVO.nl at least 7 days in advance. 

Fewer participants
In 2017, there were 19.137 companies that participated in the derogation. This number will probably be lower in 2018, because the number of applications lagged just before the closing date. The number of companies participating has been steadily decreasing for years. In 2006, 25.415 companies participated in the derogation.

The decrease is logical, because the number of agricultural companies is on a downward trend. Tightening the conditions can also play a role. In 2014, the condition of 70% grassland was converted to 80%. The nitrogen use standard for sandy and loess soil was also lowered: from 250 to 230 kilos. This made derogation less attractive on these grounds. In 2013, 21.135 companies participated, in 2014 this dropped to 19.367.

Better water quality
It is striking that the water quality among derogation farms is on average better than among non-derogation farms. In 2017, more than 80% of the derogation farms had a nitrate concentration in the groundwater of less than 50 milligrams per liter. The number of companies in sandy areas with a nitrogen use standard of 230 kilos, which exceeds the standard of 50 milligrams per liter, fell from about 2014% to less than 2017% between 50 and 20.