News Nitrogen crisis
Feed measure impossible from September
ForFarmers has not yet prepared the rations in case agriculture minister Carola Schouten introduces the feed measure from 1 September. "Without a final arrangement, it is impossible for us to prepare," said Pieter Wolleswinkel, director of the Dutch branch of the feed group.
Wolleswinkel says that ForFarmers needs at least 4 to 6 weeks to be able to prepare properly. This therefore leads to a stalemate, because it is already mid-August and Schouten wants the measure to take effect from September. ForFarmers is one of the market leaders in beef chunks.
ForFarmers is by no means enthusiastic about the measure, nor are the customers of the animal feed group. "We are skeptical about the measure as it is now on the table," said Wolleswinkel. Concerns include animal health.
'Look at total ration'
ForFarmers, together with sector organization Nevedi, is in talks with the Ministry of Agriculture* to come to a different arrangement. The idea of it is to broaden the scheme. "We argue in favor of controlling the protein level in the entire ration instead of only focusing on concentrates. For example, the protein level in the spring silage appears to be lower than in other years and we have to take that into account."
The most important thing, according to Wolleswinkel, is to find a measure that has support among dairy farmers. "All in all, it will be a very exciting period, where time is running out."
*Update: Pieter Wolleswinkel informs us that there are currently no more discussions with LNV. During the press conference about the half-year figures it has been mistakenly suggested here that the talks are still ongoing. However, these talks have been discontinued.
Wouter Job
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