Farmers get frustrated with judge with POR scheme

Pig and poultry farmers, who have gone to court because the POR scheme has been discontinued, are flabbergasted. They do not have to count on compensation and, according to the judge, the farmers can simply apply for an exemption again. 

This was announced by the judge in The Hague on Thursday 1 March in summary proceedings brought by LTO Nederland, the Dutch Union of Poultry Farmers, the Producers Organization Pig Farming (POV) and manure sales cooperative DEP.

The judge believes that it is not necessary to conduct summary proceedings and refers the poultry and pig farmers to the administrative court. According to the judge in The Hague, they can still apply for a new exemption on the basis of the Fertilizers Act.

Too much phosphate
The poultry and pig farmers went to court in The Hague because the government decided to end the POR scheme (Production Rights Exemption Regulations) as of 1 January 2018. This is because both the poultry and pig sectors produce too much phosphate. As a result, the aforementioned sectors have lost 1,6 million kilos of phosphate in extra production space.

Poultry and pig farmers, who on average work more sustainably and invest in manure processing, were eligible for an exemption. The use of the summary proceedings is an extension of the scheme. 

POV out of disappointment
The POV has expressed its disappointment in a press release about the judge's decision not to rule in the summary proceedings. Based on this, the POV has decided to consider next steps.

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