'Schouten's feed rail approach must be taken off the table'

There is no one outside the Ministry of LNV who understands how Minister Carola Schouten was able to come up with the presented elaboration of the feed rail measure. The Agricultural Collective, where LTO Nederland got off on Friday, has strongly advised against the announced package.

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Aalt Dijkhuizen, chairman of the Agricultural Collective, calls on the minister and parliament to take the proposed feed measure off the table. “This is really not possible. We are prepared to meet with the minister again, but with our proposed measures as a starting point. They are in line with practice, are cheaper and draw more nitrogen on the side."

In addition, MPs Jaco Geurts and Maurits von Martels have already informed the CDA that they do not agree with LNV's development of the feed track. They asked several written parliamentary questions. Without the CDA, there is no majority in the House of Representatives for the development of the minister's feed rail approach.

Workgroup ignored
The Agricultural Collective points out that an expert and widely supported working group, led by Marije Klever (NAJK), has had very constructive discussions with LNV. This concerned the three measures proposed by the Agricultural Collective: less crude protein in the total ration, dilute manure with water when spreading and more grazing.

The measure now chosen by the minister has been discussed extensively and is strongly discouraged. In dairy farming, concentrates serve as 'fine-tuning' of the total ration. In order to balance the total ration, more extreme (protein) feed types are of great importance to guarantee overall operation and efficiency, including less ammonia emissions. This was fully endorsed by the LNV employees involved in the Working Group, says the Agricultural Collective.

According to the Agricultural Collective, the Ministry of LNV's approach to the feed track makes it impossible to optimize the total ration. The minister's feed-track measures also increase the cost price and provoke the extra consumption of concentrates, according to the Agricultural Collective. A poorer ration optimization will not only lead to a smaller reduction of ammonia, but also to lower production and deteriorating health of the animals.

Unjustly accusing minister
The Agricultural Collective rejects Minister Carola Schouten's suggestion that the proposed measure was hastily set up because the Collective has withdrawn from the consultation. In their view, this is a completely misrepresentation. The Agricultural Collective stopped the consultations on 1 April because, despite all the consultations with the Working Group and the Collective, the Minister suddenly and very consciously reverted to her proposal to the House of Representatives of mid-November. Apparently because there was political agreement about it. At the time, there was in any case no discussion with the Agricultural Collective.

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