The new Boeren met Toekomst cooperative believes that the manure rules do not correspond to practice. She wants to exchange the fertilizer space within the nitrogen use standards for animal manure. “We only tell the members exactly how we want to do that.”
Despite the good silage weather, the information evening about the Farmers with Future cooperative on Monday in the Radstake hall in Varsseveld (GD) was well attended, says Mark Rood, dairy farmer in Holten and chairman of the new cooperative.
The partnership arose from a number of self-described fanatical trekking groups. “We do not agree with the politicians’ fertilization story,” says Rood. “Many dairy farmers are coming under financial pressure due to the amount of manure they have to dispose of. We want to bring back cooperation in the sector. We are often told ‘yet another new agricultural organisation’, but in our opinion other parties do not do this enough. We are not going to give in to politics anymore,” he said in a combative tone.
Nitrate leaching
The cooperative has had lawyers look at the fertilizer rules imposed by Europe. “From 2026, we may use 170 kilos of nitrogen from animal manure on grassland and supplement this with approximately 170 kilos of nitrogen from artificial fertilizer to stay within the nitrogen use standards. Research by Herman de Boer of Wageningen University has shown that the use of more animal manure does not lead to more leaching of nitrate. We therefore see opportunities to exchange fertilizer space for more animal manure.” Rood does not want to say what these options are. “We only explain that to our members.”
According to Rood, the cooperative currently has 450 members on Tuesday, April 30. The cooperative will start with 550 members. “We have agreed within the board that we will then have sufficient mass to challenge the current manure policy.”
Doesn’t Renure offer a solution? “Renure is a long-winded story. That cannot be easily arranged. Moreover, a fertilizer substitute still costs 28 to 30 euros per cubic meter. We are in favor of the use of liquid manure. It contains micro and organic fertilizers that are actually good for the land.”
Friends of the cooperative
The cooperative has now held meetings in Rouveen, Teuge and Varsseveld. A meeting is planned for Tuesday evening at Van der Valk in Drachten and Wednesday evening at La Place in De Meern near Utrecht. According to Rood, Herman de Boer may be one of the speakers during the meeting in Drachten. The cooperative also wants to organize a number of meetings next week. “We also want to hold two more meetings in the South of the Netherlands, because there is also a lot of interest in our cooperative there,” says Rood.
‘Friends of the Cooperative’ has been set up for people who want to support the cooperative. “We notice that people from the periphery, such as contractors and veterinarians, want to help us. This can be done through a financial contribution,” says Rood.
Tags: Farmers Future exchange fertilizer space animal manure Melkvee .nl
