Investico choices determine the outcome of nitrogen calculations

'Handful of farms keep the Netherlands locked up'. That is the outcome of the investigation by Investico, a platform for investigative journalism based on calculations with the Aerius Calculator. However, the outcomes of Aerius Calculator depend on what you put into it.

This is typically one of those studies in which the choices you make determine the results of your research. Investico chooses to remediate farms. And then looks at how many farmers have to clear the field to make other projects possible. The journalists could of course also have chosen to remediate a biomass incinerator. In that case, removing one power station would have been enough to supply the whole of the building industry in the Netherlands with nitrogen. Why did Investico not calculate this option?

Arrows targeting farms
Because Investico focuses on the farms, it looks at the nature reserves in the eastern half of the Netherlands and the agricultural countryside. A number of nature reserves in the agricultural countryside have been selected for calculation. There are relatively many farmers in this half of the Netherlands and relatively little is built.

Investico could of course also have chosen to calculate industrial nitrogen sources around nature reserves in the western half of the Netherlands. Relatively much is being built here and there are relatively few farmers. The results of the investigation would have turned out differently. This choice would also have been logical, since most construction nitrogen is needed in the west of the Netherlands.

Nitrogen emissions from Shell across the Netherlands
Investico takes the example of the turkey farmer in the Veluwe, with 'extremely high emissions close to a nature reserve.' According to Investico, that emission is 201.119 moles of nitrogen per year. Is this extremely high? It just depends on what you compare it to. If we look at Shell, for example, a bit further away in Rotterdam, we see that this company annually emits 1,75 mol per hectare in the Veluwe. Much more than the turkey farmer.

The turkey farmer in Ermelo produces an average of 0,799 moles of nitrogen per hectare in the Veluwe each year. This is because this farmer is very close to the area. At this farmer, however, the deposition is limited to 1 nature reserve. It is different in the energy industry. Shell does not only emit the relatively large amount of nitrogen in the Veluwe, but in all nature reserves throughout the Netherlands.  

Investico is, of course, free to choose to remediate farms in rural areas in order to speed up construction projects in urban areas. And present the results unilaterally. That is a more political choice than a journalistic one.

Ghost Rotgers

Investigative journalist in the agricultural sector

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