Who is the victim of nitrogen?

The nature authorities and the government are, in their view, the victims of nitrogen. It goes so far that it is said on television: the young birds that are born in the nature reserve have such bad bones that they do not survive. Cause: Too much nitrogen. Quite a strong statement, but how can this be explained?

Which nature agency or government agency can explain the following to me. Forest and natural soils are hardly analyzed if at all. In fact, we do not know whether soil fertility in forest and nature areas makes it possible to achieve set nature objectives. The investigations of Eurofins, show an extremely low CEC number in the nature reserves. This is a representation of soil fertility. The proportion of calcium is even alarmingly low. The nature authorities blame the nitrogen. But they don't get off that easily.

All farmers should have their land examined. From experience there are still farmers who never spread extra lime, but do simply fertilize with nitrogen plus animal manure and therefore provide more nitrogen than the nature reserves receive. Strangely, they don't have those low calcium levels in the soil at all. Here the CEC number must be much worse, because these soils receive much more nitrogen. But that's not true. The soil condition of these farmers is much better than that of the nature authorities. Has the natural soil not become a colander as a result of the cultural-technical measures (excavating the cultivation layer) that no longer retain nutrients? So much so that all calcium is also gone and so - as could be seen on TV - the young birds collapse due to calcium deficiency.

Large livestock to eat the vegetation
Wildlife agencies have a large herd of livestock to eat the vegetation. This herd, the so-called large grazer, defecates directly in the nature reserve and nobody talks about it. In the winter, the farmer puts his cattle in his stables and has to store the manure all winter due to government regulations. Every farmer is happy with this rule, because he now uses his manure much better than before. The disadvantage is that ammonia is created in the manure storage as a result of long storage and can thus end up in the environment. There are now more and more solutions to capture this ammonia. But when you see the government's proposal now, these new technical developments don't stand a chance. incomprehensible.

Liquid ammonia to be used as a battery for a fuel cell. There are now even developments to use liquid ammonia as a battery for a fuel cell. All electricity storage problems can easily be solved with ammonia. If you see the ambitions of the company, which now has the first machine running on ammonia, this may well be the new clean sustainable fuel for the future.

No livestock in nature reserve
This is different in the nature reserves. The animals continue to walk in the winter and therefore also defecate. This manure does not form ammonia, because it is not stored in the way the farmer has to store his manure. The plants do not grow in the winter and so this manure is leached into the groundwater. This is precisely the reason why farmers are not allowed to spread their manure in winter to prevent leaching. This also applies to the explosive growth of the geese, resulting in a large heap of manure. This explains why nitrogen leaches in nature reserves.

Isn't it, as an experiment, much better not to have livestock in a nature reserve and to bring the geese population back to the year 1970? Do not excavate the nature reserve, but give the farmers a fee. That they sod the soil just like they used to. And then measure the effect. The mechanization is developing a machine for it, so that the costs are manageable. Of course, a basic fertilization of lime is first necessary as repair fertilization. If the nature authorities continue to insist that it is the nitrogen's fault, then most of the nature will certainly be lost.

Nature managers, get in touch with Eurofins, so that you can make a plan together to adapt the soil to the desired nature objectives. It is better for the government to invest in the adapted fertilization of the nature reserves than to buy out farmers. Wouldn't you be angry if you were expropriated from your company, when the problem may well be caused by the authorities that bring about your expropriation. It is easy to blame the peasants, but this does not solve the problems. Let the birds raise their young on the farmland, so that at least they don't sag because of a calcium deficiency.

Jaap Major
Low Zuthem

Boerenbusiness

below Boerenbusiness opinions are posted from authors who, in principle, give their opinion once Boerenbusiness.nl or from people who prefer to remain anonymous. Name and place of residence are always known to the editors.

© 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.