'No money for fraudulent livestock farmers'

Pig farmers who are involved in manure fraud and want to make use of a stopper scheme do not have to count on money from the government. That is what LNV minister Carola Schouten says in the manure consultation in the House of Representatives on Thursday 16 November.

Bart-Jan van Zandwijk is co-authored

The cabinet is allocating €200 million for a warm remediation of pig farming. "We still have to make a plan for the implementation of the warm remediation. I will ensure that no money goes to companies that have committed fraud," said Schouten. She will soon announce the extent of the manure fraud to the House of Representatives.

Help
Schouten calls on farmers not to work with fraudulent fertilizer intermediaries. "Industry, do not work with a carrier that has committed serious fraud." She emphasizes that she can only tackle manure fraud with the help of the sector. "The government has already taken measures, but we will see what else is possible. I need the sector itself."

The House of Representatives debated the sixth Nitrates Directive action program on 16 November. However, the debate was largely about manure fraud.

Trust
During the consultation, she indicated that she was confident in bringing in the new derogation. "We will achieve the goals with the measures in the sixth action program. There is a good chance of granting the new derogation with current measures, which also includes enforcement."

Farmers who want a derogation next year are counting on 170 kilos of nitrogen. "We will probably only be able to start calculating with the new derogation in the spring. We are doing our best in Brussels, but we can't do more."

POR Control
In order to increase the chance of a new derogation being granted, the POR scheme for poultry and pig farming will not be extended. Schouten indicates that the derogation will be at stake if the POR regulation remains. "I want to do everything I can to maintain the derogation." Schouten does, however, promise that there may be room for an alternative scheme that could help manure processing companies. 

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.