No agricultural peak loaders in Groningen? That is good news for farmers who want to continue, but at the same time also a bit bad news for the government’s assignment to reduce nitrogen emissions in the province by a quarter by 2030.
On Monday, Nitrogen Minister Van der Wal announced how many farms in the country are eligible for her ‘wildly attractive’ buy-out scheme. Gelderland alone has more than 1800, Drenthe is also high with 189 ‘peak loaders’, while Friesland has 92.
Groningen is the only province in the country without peak loads
Groningen is the only province in the country that does not have any peak loads. Also around the only protected Natura2000 area, Liefstinghsbroek near Vlagtwedde, not a farmer emits so much nitrogen that he is entitled to a buyout by the government for 100 percent of the value of his farm, let alone the more generous 120 percent scheme .
That is great for livestock farmers who want to continue farming, but it also means that Groningen cannot take any quick, major blows towards the nitrogen target for 2030. Other provinces can achieve a large part of the contract by buying out peak loaders who want to stop, but that does not apply in Groningen.
The province does have ‘a handful’ of nitrogen emitters that fall within the 25-kilometre protection zone around the Drenthe Natura2000 areas, but they are also not eligible for Van der Wals buy-out schemes. “So we will have to see with those entrepreneurs whether we can come to agreements with them through other arrangements,” says agricultural deputy Johan Hamster.
Buying out would also provide little room for nitrogen for farmers who want to continue
However, that will not free up nearly enough nitrogen space to help other farmers who are now running into the rules. Such as the 185 so-called PAS reporters: livestock farmers who have expanded their business in the past on the basis of the guidelines that were annulled in 2019 by the Council of State. Since then, the farmers have been without the required nature permit.
“For comparison,” Hamster outlines: “The national buy-out scheme applies to peak loaders with emissions from 2500 ‘mills’ of nitrogen in protected nature areas. Our largest agricultural companies are far below that, even less than 100 windmills.” Even if it is possible to reach agreements through other schemes, this still does not provide enough room for nitrogen to give all farmers a new perspective.
Nevertheless, Hamster remains optimistic. “The nitrogen assignment for is large, but feasible for Groningen.” per cent.
A lot of nitrogen gain is expected from the ‘low-hanging fruit’ approach in stables or pastures
The three northern provinces will receive 55 million euros from the government to tackle such ‘low-hanging fruit’. The scheme is proving popular with farmers, says Hamster. Concrete figures on the number of applications will be coming soon. But according to the deputy, the available fund has now been oversubscribed.
Whether the fact that Groningen has no peak loaders is also an advantage at the negotiating table where BBB, PvdA, GroenLinks and his ‘own’ ChristenUnie are now forging a new coalition, Hamster leaves open. For election winner BBB, forced buying out of farmers is a political taboo.
Hamster, himself one of his party’s negotiators, emphasizes that this is not really an option for the current college either. Buying out can help to acquire all the necessary land for water storage facilities, for example. But it is not really an issue for achieving the nitrogen targets. Due to the small size of our agricultural companies, it does not yield enough profit, insofar as expropriation is legally enforceable at all.”