Dairy farmer Leo van Velthoven in Leende thinks he is stuck between the rules. He keeps a hundred cows right next to the Leenderbos. Two of his cowsheds need updating. The province has ordered him to install a low-emission floor in it. That costs over a ton. He does not have that money and the question is whether the bank will give him a loan. “I’m in an impossible situation.”
He has sleepless nights because of the pressure from the province to replace his stable floors while he is not yet sure whether his company can continue to exist at the Natura 2000 area with the current nitrogen plans.
Leo van Velthoven’s stables are old. Actually, he would prefer to replace them completely, but there is no money for that. So there must be expensive, new floors in an old stable. Floors of which Leo is not at all sure whether they are reducing nitrogen emissions enough.
There is still a lawsuit pending with the Council of State to see whether the nitrogen reduction that is promised is actually being achieved. Such a barn floor is also not really suitable for the young stock that it has. But he has no choice.
“I’m forced to invest without knowing if it’s really going to work.”
“So now I’m forced to make a decision, to invest in old stables, although I don’t know yet if my company has a future.”
It’s quite a job. 230 square meters of floor space needs to be removed and a new one in. A floor that separates manure and urine in a different way. That is why he also needs new manure pits. All together it costs over a ton. And he hasn’t.
The bank will have to help him, but whether it will do so is still uncertain. “I already have a large loan on my farm. An extra loan has consequences for your business plan. Your costs go up, but the cows do not give more milk. My yield does not increase.” In addition, Rabobank recently announced that it is taking an extra critical look at providing loans to companies right next to a nature reserve. Like Leo’s company.
“I don’t have a choice, it has to be now.”
“It’s been a rollercoaster, especially the last three months. The government’s nitrogen map has caused great panic. Can we achieve the intended nitrogen reduction in the area here? I now have to put that ton in my old stables, while a new stable might be a lot more is better and much more appropriate. But I have no choice, it has to be now.”
The uncertainty for the future is what makes it so tough. The wish of the cabinet and the province is for farmers to farm less intensively. Less cows or more land at the current number of animals. But Leo can’t afford that. “If additional land becomes available, I cannot afford it. This is an impossible task.”
“The plan on how we divide the area still has to be made.”
If the bank does not give Leo the loan and he cannot adjust his stables, he will be officially in violation from January 1, 2024. Then he gets a fine from the province. He is angry about that.
“The date of January 1, 2028 still applies for the rest of the Netherlands. That gives room to look ahead. In Brabant, we now have to invest before we know where we stand. That is simply not possible.”
He sees that many colleagues are throwing in the towel. Farmers who stop because they do not want to make the necessary investments without the certainty that they have a future. Leo doesn’t want that. “My son and daughter would love to take over the company. That’s what I do it for. That is my motivation, but then the bank has to cooperate.”
Rabobank understands the concerns of farmers in Brabant. On Thursday, the bank will sit at the table with nitrogen broker Johan Remkes.
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