Stoppers scheme an easy subsidy, isn't it?

Ninety thousand euros. 90.000 euros. We would receive that as compensation for handing in our cows and calves. Easy to apply for subsidy? New. A cow is worth 1.200 euros in a normal market.  Jose Bongen, previously announced to stop with the company and is now discussing the stopper arrangement. 

We have 65 cows and 20 heifers. The government and dairy sector want 60.000 cows on the market in a few months, so their value plummets. capital destruction.

When we put our farm up for sale in September, we were in good spirits. Just like our broker. A great company, where excellent technical results are produced. In that first month we had 5 interested buyers. Until the government started tinkering with the phosphate law in October. All dairy farmers have to downsize, and if they ever want to grow, they have to buy expensive rights first. All 5 buyers withdrew. Our company became unsaleable. capital destruction.

In the meantime, our mortgage, a 6.000 euros, continues every month. A mortgage we almost got rid of in September; our dream. Is that 90.000 euros a luxury cashed-in gift? No, we need them to pay our bills, now that we decided to stop and the next six months the government promptly raged over our farm and our cows with a savage arm of destruction of capital. That destruction has a purpose, yes. Hopefully it will pave the way to a healthier dairy sector. But the fact that there is compensation for the people who leave the field for this is no superfluous luxury. 

Fortunately, the purchase arrangement was therefore opened on Monday. Anyone who signed up to quit their business would be compensated. Nice! But four times as many dairy farmers registered in one day than the maximum number of allowed participants. That was foreseeable: we were not surprised when we declared last summer that the business climate for dairy farmers in the Netherlands is stale. 

There is now a draw for the compensation scheme, our chance is 25 percent. Ninety thousand euros to be able to pay our mortgage in the coming year has thus become the stake of a lottery game. 

Imagine a big company where this is being reorganized. Take Phillips. Everyone who registers voluntarily will receive a budget to bridge the first months of unemployment and to hire a career coach. You sleep badly for weeks: do I want this? Say goodbye to your colleagues; what are they going to say? Say goodbye to your certainties, your permanent job, your fixed income? You gather all your courage, take a deep breath and take the huge step: you tell your colleagues, your boss. "Ooh, what an eternal shame! But we wish you the best of luck! Oh yes, that arrangement has been oversubscribed by the way. So we drew lots and Peter gets the budget. all these years!"
All hell would break loose. Unions would stand on their hind legs.

Dear LTO, now be our union and stand up. Dear government, dairy sector and banks, be a right-thinking 'boss': put all registration rounds together and increase the budget. Don't let us leave the industry with a knot in our stomach, a burden on our backs and a kick in our ass, as a thank you for all those years of dedication.

Boerenbusiness

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