Interview John Mostert
'Schouten blunders with the new manure policy'
Johan Mostert, chairman of the fertilizer distribution section at Cumela and also owner at Mustert & van de Weg, believes that agriculture minister Carola Schouten is committing a political blunder with the new manure policy. According to him, the plan is at odds with the previously outlined principles of circular agriculture.
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What is your first reaction to the plan?
'I think it's a political blunder. The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality formulated a vision on circular agriculture a few years ago to give the agricultural sector something to hold on to, but this new manure plan does not close cycles. In fact, the plan is at odds with circular agriculture. Arable farmers want tailor-made manure, for example a combination of several types of manure, which has been happening for years. That won't be possible any time soon."
"To become land-bound, dairy farmers have to look for buyers who want to commit themselves in advance, but practice shows that arable farmers often do not want that. And intensive livestock farmers will soon have to have everything processed into fertilizer products, while the vast majority of arable farmers actually use untreated products. want manure for more organic matter in the soil. The plan is also not effective in terms of sustainability, because you get more transport movements, while more manure processing also emits extra CO2."
So a plan for the shredder?
"Yes, as far as I'm concerned, but whether that will happen? It will be hard lobbying from the advocacy group to turn the plan into a workable policy. Hopefully there is also room for that, since these are of course only the contours of the plan. We already have a manure processing obligation that works well. We will get less livestock in the coming years, so the processing obligation should actually be lowered. However, manure processing should only take place when you can no longer get the manure placed with arable farmers."
What does this plan mean for the future role of intermediaries?
"It is still difficult to say. The manure will also have to be transported from A to B in the future and that is our function in the chain. I therefore do not see the plan as a threat to the existence of intermediaries."
And for the manure prices (collection contributions)?
"These will probably go up. Until now, it has been shown that manure processing is difficult to get profitable. After all, processing is always more expensive than spreading. The cost price also rises for arable farmers, because they have to pay for processed fertilizer products. Those products cost the end user €80 No arable farmer will pay that as long as comparable fertilizer costs €100 to €40 per tonne. ."
The plan was also launched to combat manure fraud. Does this also work?
"The regulations regarding manure are quite complex, but I wonder whether this plan makes it easier. Manure fraud must be tackled vigorously, but the NVWA lacks clout. In my opinion, this plan increases the cost price and that actually encourages fraud you would say. Until now, the minister has achieved little in practice, take the feed track. It seems that with this plan Schouten is making the final mark. It will not be easy for her successor to implement this manure plan. "
Wouter Job
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