Restart beckons for stopping pig farmer

The pig farmers who participate in the Stoppers Scheme 'Ammonia Livestock Farming Action Plan' would do well to reconsider whether a restart is not worthwhile. By giving pigs a paved outdoor area, the permits are preserved and ammonia netting can generate money.

No stricter emission requirements will apply from 1 January for pigs that are offered a paved outdoor area. In this way, the Low-Emission Housing Decree can be easily complied with, without costly investments in air scrubbers.

Simple or complicated?
The question is whether it is actually a matter of reporting under the 'Activities Decree' and the 'Environmental Act Limited Environmental Assessment' (OBM). This is only the case if no building permit needs to be applied for, because it is not building permit-free or the building block has been exceeded. Of course, there must be enough space around the livestock shed to be able to construct a paved outdoor area.

The paved outdoor area must be more than 0,7 m . per finisher² provide space and for fermented and pregnant sows at least 1 m²† However, indoor is at least 1,1 m² required per meat pig, minimum 2,5 m² per pregnant sow and minimum 6,5 m² per farrowing sow. For a piglet this is 0,5 m².

An amendment to the Nature Conservation Act may also be necessary. The possible amendment of that law depends on the location of the company. "However, if the animal numbers do not increase and the number of pigs that were kept in 1994 is taken as the starting point (when the first Natura 2000 areas in the Netherlands were designated), this is also a formality," says Robert Kuiphuis, organic pig farmer and advisor at Booijink. animal feeds.

Due to the ruling of the Council of State, which has brought the Programmatic Approach to Nitrogen into question, it is expected that it will again be possible to set off ammonia rights. More clarity on this will be provided this autumn (when the provinces, in consultation with the government, will give substance to the newly created situation.) In the meantime, the government has put the Remkes committee to work on tackling the problems that have arisen.

Weigh costs and benefits
How much the sale of these ammonia rights can yield depends on deposition in a vulnerable nature reserve. That is why the price of ammonia rights has varied greatly in the past: from €1,50 to tens of euros. Booijink assumes that when determining the number of kilograms of ammonia rights, the emission factor applies that was in force in 2015, when the so-called PAS legislation replaced internal netting with ammonia rights.

The emission factors within the Low-Emission Housing Decree have been halved. "How you weigh up whether the added value of preserving the Environmental and Nature Conservation Act permits and ammonia rights outweigh the fees and consultancy costs, differs per situation. This also depends in particular on the location and ammonia deposition of the company in relation to vulnerable nature. says Kuiphuis.

Remediation scheme pig farming
Under the Low-Emission Housing Decree, anyone who participates in the Stopping Scheme, not to be confused with the Remediation Scheme for Pig Farming, must have empty manure cellars as of December 31, 2019 and an officially revoked environmental permit for the pig branch.

"Anyone who decides not to participate in the stoppage scheme, but who will offer the pigs a paved outdoor area, can sign up for the pig farming remediation scheme this autumn," says Kuiphuis. It is not possible to participate in both schemes. Due to the stricter ammonia reduction requirements (on top of national legislation) of 1 January 2020, it is not possible in North Brabant to meet the low-emission farming requirements with paved outdoor areas.

Not known how many stoppers
It is not known how many companies have already registered for the stopper scheme. According to estimates by DLV Advies, this could be about 1.500 companies, which jointly own about 10% of the pig herd in the Netherlands. "By the improved economy the enthusiasm to continue may have increased in recent months," says director Jos de Groot of DLV Advies.

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