ANPCalves with their mother in Halle, Gelderland
NOS News•today, 10:50•Edited today, 11:48
In less than two weeks, more than 200 farmers have registered for a buy-out scheme. This is confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality after reporting in NRC.
At the beginning of July, the government set up two buyout schemes. One regulation is intended for peak loaders: agricultural and industrial companies that emit a lot of nitrogen in nature reserves or in the vicinity of them. The other scheme is intended for dairy, pig and poultry farmers who are not peak loaders.
Most of the 200 submitted applications come from peak loaders. If those entrepreneurs stop, they can sell their company for 120 percent of its value. This, according to demissionary minister Van der Wal, “wildly attractive” scheme will close again next April. Farmers who are not peak taxers receive 100 percent of their farm value.
‘Much more in the pipeline’
It is likely that even more farms will sign up for the schemes, Paul Bens, director of the agricultural consultancy firm DLV Advies, told NRC. His agency has assisted about fifty companies in submitting the application. And there are “many more in the pipeline,” says Bens.
According to Van der Wal, some 3,000 companies are eligible for the peak tax scheme. Of those companies, 60 percent are located in the province of Gelderland. According to the outgoing minister, it is not necessary for all peak loaders to stop. It would be “very good” if one-fifth of those companies went out of business, or 600 companies.
Farmers who have submitted an application do not seem to be aware of this. An advisor from DLV Advice tells NOS that these farmers are not waiting for an interview. “They often haven’t made a decision yet and are waiting for the offer.”
Wim Brouwer, chairman of the LTO Gelderse Vallei department, says he does not know anyone who has signed up for a buy-out scheme, while there are many peak loaders in that region. “They may keep it quiet, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
‘Step in the right direction’
What stopping a farm means for the amount of nitrogen deposited on the soil depends on where this farm is located. That is what Wim de Vries, professor of environmental systems analysis at Wageningen University, says in the NOS Radio 1 Journal.
“If a company is very close to a small nature reserve, it can really make a difference.” But, according to De Vries, we should not expect that there will suddenly be “an awful lot” of nitrogen space in the Netherlands. “Because it is a local phenomenon: it is not the case that this will make a lot of difference in the Northern Netherlands.”
The fact that 200 farmers have registered for a scheme is “a step in the right direction”, says De Vries. According to the professor, more is needed to ensure that nitrogen emissions – according to the plan – are reduced by 50 percent by 2030. “There is also a lot to be done in management and a different technology is needed.”
Nieuwsuur recently spoke with various farmers about the buy-out scheme for peak taxers. What will this regulation mean?
What will the buy-out scheme mean for peak loaders?
2023-07-14 08:50:42
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