Feed measure holds, farmers protest grows

Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten managed to get her concentrate feed plan through the House of Representatives last night (Friday). The motion not to implement the scheme did not reach a majority, although the House does call on the minister to conduct an investigation. The anger among farmers is high, with protests in The Hague and other parts of the country expected to only increase today.

De concentrate control was late on the agenda of the House of Representatives, which met for the last time last night and last night before the summer recess. Before that, farmers had already flocked to the Binnenhof, with the encouragement of Farmers Defense Force (FDF), where the tractors were parked at the entrance. There were also farmers' protests in Groningen and Drenthe, among others.

All the farmers' interest groups involved are vehemently against the concentrate regulation that Schouten is going to introduce, which sets requirements for the crude protein content in the feed. It does this to create nitrogen space for housing and infrastructure projects. For today, Agractie has announced actions in The Hague, where the Malieveld is the intended location. The frustrations and emotions of dairy farmers are high, also explains LTO Nederland. This organization calls the feed measure a 'failure for the ministry'. 

In the House of Representatives, however, the minister did receive the support she wanted. Motions not to implement or withdraw the scheme received only limited support from the opposition, but not from the coalition parties VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie. According to Schouten, she has tried everything to reach an agreement with the dairy sector. According to her, the existing plans are rejected by the Council of State, because a certain nitrogen reduction cannot be guaranteed in advance. According to her, this legal certainty is provided with the concentrates regulation proposed by her.

A motion by the CDA and the VVD to ask the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) to change Schouten's concentrates and the alternative plan of the Dutch dairy sector to reduce the crude protein content in supplied compound feed by 3% has been adopted. This examination must be performed within 3 weeks. Whether this ultimately offers solace for dairy farmers remains to be seen. Schouten wants to introduce the scheme as early as September 1, and until then the political The Hague is on holiday.

It is also questionable whether she will carry out the motion. In the debate in the House, she indicated that she had already explored all options. If the dairy sector's proposal can be implemented, it should lead to a private law contract between the dairy farmer and the feed supplier. However, Schouten indicated that introducing and, above all, checking these agreements is not feasible in the short term. 

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