The Netherlands submerged in manure. The cows present on Dutch territory produce so much of it that it is not even possible to pour it into the fields. The agricultural sector, which has invested massively in intensive farming, has in recent years been one of the main culprits of the so-called nitrogen crisis, which is causing massive air and water pollution in one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. .
Compared to almost 18 million inhabitants, there are as many as 4 million cows in the country. Brussels had raised the alarm in recent years, but for years Dutch farmers were allowed to spread more fertilizer than those in other countries in the bloc due to the small size of the Dutch territory.
Dutch farmers could apply between 230 and 250 kg of nitrogen per hectare per year, while in most other EU countries the amount was limited to 170 kg. The European Commission announced as early as 2022 that this exception to the rules should be phased out. With a sharp deterioration in water quality, Brussels decided to revoke the exemption. In 2026, Dutch farmers will have to adapt to the European standard.
How much does excess manure cost
Even farmers, who had opposed the restrictions envisaged by Brussels in recent months, are starting to give up. “We don’t know where to go with our manure,” he told theAfp the breeder Jos Verstraten whose farm is located in Westerbeek, near Eindhoven. The manure from his cows is stored in a huge tank shaped like a circus tent. “We produce more than we can spread in our fields,” he added. Dutch farmers can spread manure on their land between February and September, when the grass is growing.
Supermarkets could fight intensive chicken farming if they wanted (but they don’t want to)
“We can no longer spread the same amount of manure on our fields as we have over the last thirty years,” Verstraten explained. His herd produces around 5 thousand cubic meters of manure every year, having 55 hectares available, on which he distributes around 1700 cubic meters of manure, a figure destined to drop to almost 1500. The farmer already spends between 20 thousand and 30 thousand euros to transport the excess manure, but with the new restrictions he will be forced to pay a higher amount.
The pro-farmers party in government is calling for new exemptions
In recent years, the nitrogen crisis had pushed Dutch farmers to protests, in some cases even violent ones. In the wake of these protests, a new pro-farmers party was born, the Boer Burger Beweging (Bbb – Peasant-Citizen Movement), capable of conquering the Dutch political scene in a short time. Today the Peasant-Citizen Movement is in government, in a coalition led by the far right. The problem of excess manure remains on the agenda. Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma of the BBB called on Brussels to maintain the exemption. According to experts, the chances of this request being met are slim.
The current government, taking up an initiative from the previous one, intends to focus on financial compensation for farmers who voluntarily stop their activities. Some are starting to admit that a change in the sector is necessary, because pollution is excessive. “There is only one solution at the moment, and that is to reduce the herd,” said Verstraten, willing to send “more animals to the slaughterhouse and produce less milk.” Many farmers remain exasperated by the uncertainty surrounding their future, in a back-and-forth between Brussels and The Hague that has gone on for far too long.
