The government has miscalculated the number of farmers who register for one of the two stopper schemes. That is why it wants to reserve almost 1.5 billion euros extra for buying out agricultural entrepreneurs.
This became apparent after questions from NRC to the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV). According to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), which processes farmers' buyout applications, 1,240 farmers have registered for the stopper schemes up to and including Wednesday 20 December. Almost 1.5 billion euros had already been reserved for this.
The outgoing cabinet now fears that “the budgets may be oversubscribed,” the ministry says. If the House of Representatives and the Senate and the European Commission agree to a doubling of the reserve, the extra budget will be added to the LNV budget for next year.
The government's buyout schemes are important pillars for the outgoing cabinet to reduce nitrogen emissions. If this is accomplished quickly, halted construction projects can be resumed.
Peak loads
The government has been offering both stopper schemes since July 2023. One is specifically intended for companies that emit a lot of nitrogen in or near vulnerable natural areas, so-called peak loaders. The other is for other farms.
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The peak load scheme will close in April next year. 458 farmers have now registered for this. Peak loaders are generously compensated; they will be paid 120 percent of the value in the event of a company strike. Minister Christianne van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen, VVD) called the scheme “wildly attractive” when it was introduced. The RVO handles peak load requests with priority. They will be assessed within sixteen weeks.
The RVO has so far examined eighty applications. Of these, 79 met the requirements, one was rejected. The requirement for these peak loaders includes a minimum emission of nitrogen (2,500 mol per year) on overloaded nature. Such a company must also be located no more than 25 kilometers from vulnerable nature.
Eleven peak chargers have now signed the buyout agreement with the government. It is not publicly known how much their compensation is.
Farmers who fall under the other stopper scheme receive a lower compensation: they receive a maximum of 100 percent of their business value – the government has reserved half a billion euros for this. 510 agricultural entrepreneurs registered for this scheme, which closed at the beginning of this month. RVO still has to decide for 272 applications which scheme they fall under.
Farmers are still dropping out
The number of farmers who stop may actually be disappointing. A spokesperson refers to research by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) that was published at the end of last year. Farmers who initially registered often drop out. For example, after a scheme there are often only “a few percent” fewer animals, writes the PBL. Farmers decide not to stop, for example because they have had a very good business year, according to the LNV spokesperson.
According to the income estimate published this week by Wageningen University & Research, this currently applies to pig farmers and poultry farmers. They had their best year ever in 2022. Prices for piglets, pigs and eggs were higher because there was less supply in Europe. Pig and poultry farmers together accounted for 715 buyout applications.
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