Once again there will be a debate about the stable deadline. The factions of the CDA, BBB, JA21 and the PVV have requested that debate. There are major concerns about the operation of various housing systems. The parties are unable to force farmers to install these in their stables. Parties want to hold the debate on September 29, one day before farmers must have applied for their permit.
The operation of these stable systems is under discussion. A report from Wageningen University showed this summer that all available systems do not do what they promise. The measures hardly work for dairy stables, but for pig stables, goats and poultry they work considerably less than promised.
And if you do not know whether and how much nitrogen is removed from the air by such a housing system, you cannot perform calculations with it to grant a permit. After all, that calculation is incorrect. That is why the province previously announced that you can only obtain a permit through a so-called ‘appropriate assessment’.
This is an additional test to see whether business operations are harmful to surrounding nature reserves. But at the moment it is not at all clear what conditions an appropriate assessment must meet.
Deadline on October 1st
In the meantime, there is a deadline for farmers who keep poultry, pigs or goats. They must still have applied for a permit before October 1 to install such a system that reduces nitrogen emissions.
According to the various political parties in the Provincial Council, you can no longer speak of good governance if you still oblige farmers to apply for a permit.
“After October 1, many entrepreneurs do not know which conditions they must meet and the province is therefore in violation of the principle of legal certainty. This is detrimental to the principles of good governance. We are asking citizens and companies to do something that is not possible. A government is not allowed to do this doing.”
Reply for dairy cattle
In the administrative agreement that was presented at the beginning of this month, it was already agreed that dairy cattle and veal farmers will be given a postponement in purchasing a low-emission floor. This is because the Wageningen University report shows that those systems do not work at all. But for poultry, pigs and goats, the deadline for a permit application remains October 1.
The CDA, BBB, JA21 and PVV factions emphasize that it is necessary to provide clarity for farmers before October 1. They ask for a debate with the responsible portfolio holders for Agricultural Development (Marc Oudenhoven) and the Nature Management Act (Hagar Rooijakkers) to discuss this issue in depth.
“This debate promises to be a crucial moment in the discussion about the rights and security of farmers in the province. Its outcome will influence the future of the agricultural sector in the region,” the parties say.
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