The feed sector sees and expects declining compound feed sales, according to trade organization Nevedi last week. Frank Verhoeven, advisor in the field of circular agriculture, believes that the sector should set itself the target of delivering no more than 3 million tons to dairy farming annually. This is now more than 4 million tons.
Verhoeven also says that the compound feed industry has an interest in not being so strict with objectives regarding circular agriculture. After all, for them the greatest return lies in advising livestock farmers to purchase products with high protein. This idea can be explained, by the way.
When the phosphate rights were introduced, the dairy sector had no choice but to increase milk production and increase the share of concentrates per liter of milk produced. While the intention is to obtain more protein from our own land, including by significantly increasing the use of roughage.
Complicating factor
Last year, the extremely dry summer proved to be an additional complicating factor. Exact figures are only known to the compound feed suppliers, but a 25% increase in concentrate consumption in the summer months does not sound illogical (depending on the business situation). After all, the intensity of business operations largely determines roughage utilization.
The extensive farms, with a low milk production per hectare, have an interest in making additional use of their expensive land. However, intensive farms that produce a lot of milk per hectare have an interest in the opposite.
Share of residual flows
However, what about the use of residual flows, a frequently used sustainability argument? The animal feed sector insists on this, but dairy farming and pig farming in particular are also concerned with this subject. However, the share of these residual flows in the total amount of concentrates (converted) is limited. Only 10%, according to figures from the Consultation Platform Wet Livestock Feeds (OPNV). Moreover, this percentage has been very constant for years.
The experts expect that this share will not increase significantly in the future. This does not alter the fact that the argument is valid (compared to practice abroad), although livestock farming is concentrated all over the world near factories that produce residual flows from the ethanol, sugar, dairy and beer industries. However, nowhere is the share of residual flows in livestock farming as large as in the Netherlands.
Turnover under pressure
Moreover, the compound feed sector has made no secret of the fact that turnover in the Netherlands is under pressure for years. The large animal feed companies in the Netherlands therefore invest in Eastern Europe and in other countries outside the European Union. The margin is then not primarily on the tons of bulk, but on the specialty feeds (the premixes). In that respect, the Dutch compound feed industry is the world leader.
In addition, in order to respond effectively to the closed cycles in livestock farming, the research also focuses on the production of synthetic high-quality proteins. These must replace the unbeatable quality of soy protein from outside Europe. This could be the big profit driver in the future.
Jobs on the way
Verhoeven is putting the compound feed industry on the spot. And his opinion matters, because he has been involved in the development of circular agriculture through the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality for years. The view of trade organization Nevedi that intensive livestock farming in the Netherlands produces the lowest CO per kilo of product2footprint in the world does not seem to be being heard.
It is not without reason that a study was published in January of this year, commissioned by Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality), in which a shrinkage of livestock of 25% is realistic. The result is a significant loss of employment in the agricultural sector, including at livestock feed companies. Nevedi also warns the minister that moving livestock abroad does not help the climate.