Agricultural Agreement Negotiations with LTO Suspended: Latest Updates and Perspectives

It is not yet known who will join the consultation on behalf of the cabinet. “It’s a very important conversation, because it’s about the prospects for our farmers,” says LTO chairman Sjaak van der Tak. The negotiations are still not over, says the farmer’s foreman. “It’s a suspension, no more. and no less.”

LTO said on Wednesday morning that it would withdraw from the new consultations if no agreement was reached today. “Today is such a day of: will we get out or will we not get out?” stated the LTO chairman on Wednesday morning.

For months, the Minister of Agriculture has been striving for an agreement that should offer future prospects to the agricultural and horticultural sector in the Netherlands. Agreements should be made about how permanent farmers can still earn a good income in the coming decades from the production of dairy, potatoes and meat. That future perspective is necessary to find support for hard measures such as buying up farmers to reduce nitrogen emissions.

Last week, Van der Tak already issued a profit warning. The accumulation of rules on the environment, nature, climate, soil and water continues from Brussels and The Hague, he stated. “The cabinet is completely stuck,” Van der Tak said at the time. With the current stack of rules, reaching an agricultural agreement would be an illusion.

Restoring confidence through an Agricultural Agreement is crucial for a better relationship between farmers on the one hand and the government on the other. Mediator Johan Remkes concluded last year that confidence in the government in rural areas has fallen to an all-time low.

One of the main points of discussion in the current consultation is the introduction of a maximum standard for the number of cows per hectare. LTO refuses such a standard, because it would deprive farmers of their entrepreneurial freedom. Van der Tak prefers to see hard environmental standards for every company, after which each farmer can demonstrate that he adheres to them.

According to Adema, however, the introduction of such a standard is not a discussion, but a fact. The minister of agriculture also acknowledged that the agreement could fall on Wednesday.