Gelderland replaces fertilizer on grass

The agricultural sector makes a significant contribution to the economy of the province of Gelderland, the province with the largest area of ​​grassland in the Netherlands. The provincial government is therefore making every effort to develop a vital countryside. The province and agricultural entrepreneurs are trying to set up a chain of circular agriculture.

This circular economy is a requirement in order not to affect the area of ​​nature reserve in the province. This should allow tourism to flourish, which is also an important sector within the Gelderlander economy. That split requires ingenuity. Innovations are needed to enable sustainable and highly productive agriculture.

For example, the province is supporting the innovation project 'Kunstmestloze Achterhoek' with €250.000. The main goal of this project is to make fertilization practice more sustainable by using regional nutrients. That requires innovations, and that is no problem for the Achterhoekers! This region can be seen as the cradle of the development of the silage maize cultivation in the Netherlands. In the 70s, this turned out to be a major innovation in agriculture.

Fertilizer use
People in that area are not unfamiliar with innovation. This is apparent from the speed and craftsmanship with which the technically advanced installations of the Groene Mineralen Centrale were built and put into production. Groot Zevert Vergisting and Nijhuis Water Technology signed up for this.

More than half of the fertilizer use in the Achterhoek consists of calcium ammonium nitrate (KAS). This nitrogen fertilizer causes a substantial environmental burden during production and application, as established in the Covenant on Clean and Efficient Agrosectors in 2008. Its use stands in the way of making agriculture more sustainable.

Precision fertilization
Good news for the participants in Fertilizer Free Achterhoek, because Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Carola Schouten has decided (in the context of the sixth action program Nitrates Directive) to grant an exemption for nitrogen fertilizers from the GMC, especially for this project. This despite the origin from animal manure. They now get an excellent liquid nitrogen fertilizer in the form of ammonia. It is therefore suitable for precision fertilization.

The fact that this fertilizer works well on modern, deep-rooted grass has been proven in another innovation project: Smart Grass Production. This project is being carried out at Hoeve Boveneind in Herwijnen and was initiated by the Gelders Agrarisch Jonge Kontakt, in collaboration with grass seed supplier Barenbrug, among others.

More about this during an open day on 14 September. This is how circular agriculture is taking shape in Gelderland, from east to west.

Herre Bartlema

Herre Bartlema is chairman of the NCOK: Netherlands Center for the Development of Circular Precision Agriculture. The aim: to promote the application of practical precision farming techniques to contribute to a clean sector.

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