Background Nitrogen mood
Sjaak, Piet and Mark still buy some time
And again an extra week of time was bought for the benefit of an Agricultural Agreement. LTO chairman Sjaak van der Tak had almost left the consultation on Wednesday, but was persuaded at the door to continue talking for another evening. With no less than six ministers around the table. In our Nitrogen Mood section, we give an impression of the nitrogen crisis in our own way.
The suggestion was made that suddenly more business could be done, with a whole battery of ministers at the same time. Painful for NAJK chairman Roy Meijer was that he was apparently considered superfluous and also a bit sad because of all those previous months. But does it make a difference?
Search for pain threshold
None of the parties involved wants to say clearly what exactly was discussed that evening, but it is at least partly possible to guess. The GVE or grassland standard desired by the cabinet has been worked on. On Tuesday evening in Groenekan, it turned out that hardly any director of LTO Dairy Farming wants to do that. But especially with the ZLTO this is very sensitive. This state of affairs is confirmed by initial signals from the consultations. It is therefore not surprising if on Wednesday evening there was also a lot of communication between the LTO and the cabinet with the ZLTO board, to explore where the pain threshold lies in Brabant.
Deliver, but also receive?
Members' magazine Nieuwe Oogst reported the government's commitment for the first time on Friday (From 2027 to 4 LU per hectare. In 2030 a grassland standard of 0,30 hectare per LU and from 2035 a standard of 0,35 hectare per LU applies). apparently with the intention of sounding this out among the members. There are reportedly more problems in the draft agreement, such as a blending obligation for organic milk.
Many farmers will also be curious whether Van der Tak has won anything back, such as hard guarantees from the cabinet about PAS detectors, low-emission stable victims and the like, or has he only surrendered less than first feared?
Publish first result
Now that there seems to be some kind of charcoal sketch, it is up to the parties to sell this fledgling result to their supporters. LTO immediately started with this, by stating that Van der Tak's consultation with the heavy cabinet delegation had gone 'beyond expectations', but without saying exactly on what points, but gradually something more is being said. The cabinet expressed itself moderately positively, because the race is not yet over (to cheer too loudly would also create the wrong impression).
Unsurprisingly, the other agricultural parties reacted critically and dismissively. There has been a build-up of tension here in recent weeks: Agriculture and FDF are getting fiercer again, former LTO directors who can no longer keep quiet and also Jeroen van Maanen, vice-chairman of the NMV, spoke out firmly against an agreement. Van der Tak and his club of loyalists seem to be moving further away from the agricultural field. It is striking that the CNV trade union also expressed its concerns about a possible agreement. This union fears for the future of possible up to 30.000 jobs in agro-related activity and calls for a social plan in which buy-out funds are divided between entrepreneurs and employees.
No elections
From the cabinet's perspective, it is understandable that everything is being done to keep LTO on board. Body preservation also plays a part. It is rumored that if no agreement is reached, Minister of Agriculture Piet Adema threatens to resign and that would mean the end of the cabinet. No one in the current coalition wants to think about that. All ruling parties lose big in new elections. At the beginning of this week, the purchase of peak loaders (and those of ordinary 'defamers') started. Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Christianne van der Wal wants to quickly put a dent in a packet of butter and hopes that many companies will sign up.
Pond size predetermined
For the peak loaders category, she fishes in a pool of 3.000 companies. She had mentioned that number in advance as a target group for which RIVM had to come up with a regulation, so is clear. This category also includes industrial companies, but differs from, for example, the ammonia and nitrogen Top 100s requested by GroenLinks MP Laura Bromet. For example, Schiphol has been filtered out by adjusting the criteria. Interested companies can apply for a buy-out, but the government will definitely start 'cherry-picking', or selection of companies that it most wants to have. And then waiting for the finish. That is something the government has not been good at so far. Anyone who concludes a purchase agreement with the government is stuck for years in a bureaucratic process with few interim certainties.
Credible insurance
Companies that do report, but are not being bought up have little certainty that their data will not be made public, despite assurances from Minister Van der Wal. Such assurances are as credible as those of detergent manufacturers. First, data security in Aerius is weak, so have several experts discovers. Second, registration always leaves an administrative trail that is retrievable. However, for those who still want to quit, it remains an opportunity.
With an increasing number of provinces, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the government to obtain cooperation for a smooth remediation of livestock farming emissions. Coalitions are being formed in more and more provinces with a leading role for the BBB. This can also happen in North Brabant, but the college formation collapsed at the last minute. The CDA wanted a postponement for the Brabant stable requirements. Now to be renegotiated.
Nature Restoration Act
Negotiations are also continuing in Brussels on the Nature Restoration Act of European Commissioner Frans Timmermans. Agriculture, the cabinet and many other parties in the Netherlands are unanimously happy about this. However they may stand separately in this case, they agree that Timmermans wants too much. For a while on Thursday it looked like his plans would be relegated to the trash, but that was prevented. The vote in the environment committee will continue next week, but a perfect stalemate emerged, with as many votes against as in favour.
Forerunner Netherlands
In Europe, resistance to Timmerman's plans seems to be growing, and for this purpose, attention is also being paid to how agriculture and the countryside in the Netherlands are being tackled. Many European politicians want to avoid a battlefield between town and country or between cultures, as has arisen here. It is striking that the Netherlands is also a forerunner in the EU, but then of how not to approach it. That many Dutch politicians defend the current measures against agriculture with reference to Brussels is a matter of perspective and point of view.
Klaas van der Horst
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