New Brabant manure rules this year

If it is up to the provincial administrator of Brabant Anne-Marie Spierings (D66), manure in Brabant may be processed indefinitely from the summer. However, the condition is that the size of the Brabant herd does not increase.

The latter must be done via a new ''slot'', namely parking. The province of Brabant has already proven itself as the nursery of the new livestock policy. 

In Brabant there is still a strict manure processing policy and since 2015 even a construction freeze. Will that change?
'The rule in Brabant is that no more manure may be processed than is actually required by the government. For the South region this was 55 percent in 2016 and 59 percent in 2017. We also did not want to allow more manure processing than was strictly necessary to be able to fulfill our duty. In 2015 we took a preparatory decision for the new policy. This means that we do not process new permit applications. We have since declined 3 applications. That will now change. The new manure processing rules are available for inspection and will be sent to the States of Brabant in the second half of April. I hope that the States will make a decision at the beginning of July.'

What do the new rules mean?
'The province no longer wants to impose restrictions on the amount of manure that can be processed in Brabant. Only at the locations where this is allowed. Manure processing in the yard is possible, but often remains too small-scale. That is why we allow collective manure processing installations of up to 25.000 tons in rural areas. For pig manure, this will mean separating the manure, after which a processing operation will take place on industrial estates.'

You give farmers a free hand when it comes to manure processing, but you do set conditions for expanding companies.
'That's right. We are setting a new standard, parking. This means that for every square meter of new barn, a farmer has to demolish an old barn. We want the concentration of livestock in Central and East Brabant not to increase further. To prevent this, for every square meter of new shed, 1,1 square meters of shed must disappear elsewhere in the region.'

That means an extra cost item for farmers who want to expand.
'We are working on an investment fund that farmers can rely on. I don't know yet how much money is needed for this. We are in talks with banks, feed suppliers and municipalities to make a financial contribution.'

FrieslandCampina and the POV have developed comparable concepts for manure processing. Chance?
“No, not special. We have our own vision on the valorisation of manure and the closing of mineral cycles. Our policy is therefore in line with the Vital Pig Farming program of the POV. This also applies to stabling. Stoppers are therefore linked to stayers. FrieslandCampina stimulates manure fermentation on the farm. Dairy farmers who opt for this can receive extra points if they are able to capture the emissions from manure. We are still working on a test for any health factors that are taken into account in a permit application. It's about smell and germs. That test is expected to be completed this summer as well.'

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