Quickscan amendement voeder-mestovereenkomsten

Het stelsel van verantwoorde en grondgebonden groei van de melkveehouderij begrenst deontwikkeling van melkveebedrijven. Bedrijven met een melkveefosfaatoverschot van meer dan 20 kgper ha moeten grond verwerven als ze willen groeien. De eventuele invoering van voedermestovereenkomstenmaakt groei van melkveebedrijven mogelijk zonder dat deze zelf grondverwerven. In deze nota wordt becijferd dat, zonder rekening te houden met andere begrenzingenzoals een fosfaatrechtenstelsel, de melkveehouderij in Nederland met maximaal 26% zou kunnengroeien. De groei zal vooral in het oostelijke deel kunnen plaatsvinden. Ook wordt ingegaan opuitvoeringsaspecten zoals borging van levering, hoeveelheidsbepaling en oppervlakteregistrati

Modelling dairy farming and grazing in the Netherlands: scenarios and results

In this paper we analyse the impact of different grazing policies on number of dairy cows in different grazing categories in 2025 by model simulation in the Netherlands. It can be generally concluded that in the absence of intervention there is a strong tendency towards a decline in grazing on Dutch dairy farms. This tendency is not inevitable and it can be counteracted by policies aiming at higher percentages of grazing on dairy farms. External information about differences in costs between alternative and observed grazing technology is used to calibrate the PMP model. This results into a more flexible substitution between alternative technologies

Towards sustainable and circular farming in the Netherlands : Lessons from the socio-economic perspective

The dutch dairy sector has shown a strong development in the last decades, resulting in fewer but larger and more specialised farms. Larger farms and more intensive ways of production have raised concerns about environmental impacts. This paper shows that there is a clear economic incentive to increase the scale of production. Larger farms tend to show better economic results in terms of lower cost prices and higher incomes. The environmental results are more diverse and depend on the chosen indicators. Larger farms are able to include environmental objectives in their farm management when there are clear incentives to do so. These incentives can be provided by policies, but also by private sector initiatives. Several sustainability initiatives have been developed to monitor and improve the sustainability performance of farms. Our current way of agricultural production is faced with several sustainability challenges. Circular food systems are expected to contribute to the solution of these challenges. In the Netherlands, policy measures and sector initiatives are developed to increase sustainability and to implement and experiment with the concept of Circular Agriculture. This concept is deliberately broadly defined. However, to guide development towards more sustainable production systems, it requires objective parameters and goals at different levels of scale. This would allow all stakeholders to develop solutions in their own circumstances and objectively evaluate progress. One of the bottlenecks of the transition towards more circular food systems is the search for new business models for farmers. Some frontrunners are currently developing new circular farming businesses. These innovative (social) entrepreneurs are experimenting with new business models that contribute to the realisation of circular agriculture. This paper describes methods that have been developed to assist farmers but also regional governments in the transition to a more sustainable agriculture and the development of new business models. Developing new business models together with frontrunners is just a first step. Questions like ’How to broaden these initiatives to sector level?’, ‘How to provide effective incentives?’, ‘How to incorporate external effects in prices?’ and ‘What are the costs of farm investments or practices to improve sustainability?’ and ‘Who should pay for a more circular agriculture?’ are still very much unanswered

De Nederlandse melkveehouderij in 2030 : verkenning van mogelijke ontwikkelingen op basis van economische modellering

In deze studie is verkend wat mogelijke ontwikkelrichtingen voor de Nederlandse melkveehouderij richting 2030 zijn. Er is een economisch model ontwikkeld waarmee effecten van economische, beleidsmatige en maatschappelijke veranderingen op de structuur van de Nederlandse melkveesector kunnen worden verkend. In het basisscenario is uitgegaan van bestaand en ingezet beleid en voortzetting van bestaand gedrag. Dit resulteert in 2030 een afname van het aantal bedrijven met 33% een toename van de totale melkproductie met 4% (ten opzichte van 2018) en een afname van het aantal koeien tot bijna 1,5 miljoen. Naast het basisscenario zijn nog drie exploratieve scenario’s verkend die zijn gebaseerd op mogelijke toekomstige maatschappelijke veranderingen. Er worden aanbevelingen gedaan hoe de inzichten gebruikt kunnen worden om de melkveehouderij economisch robuuster en duurzamer te maken. Dit vereist een samenspel van meerdere actoren

Use of long-term monitoring data to derive a relationship between nitrogen surplus and nitrate leaching for grassland and arable land on well-drained sandy soils in the Netherlands

The decrease in nitrogen (N) use in agriculture led to improvement of upper groundwater quality in the Sand region of the Netherlands in the 1991–2009 period. However, still half of the farms exceeded the European nitrate standard for groundwater of 50 mg/l in the 2008–2011 period. To assure that farms will comply with the quality standard, an empirical model is used to derive environmentally sound N use standards for sandy soils for different crops and soil drainage conditions. Key parameters in this model are the nitrate-N leaching fractions (NLFs) for arable land and grassland on deep, well-drained sandy soils. NLFs quantify the fraction of the N surplus on the soil balance that leaches from the root zone to groundwater and this fraction represents N available for leaching and denitrification. The aim of this study was to develop a method for calculating these NLFs by using data from a random sample of commercial arable farms and dairy farms that were monitored in the 1991–2009 period. Only mean data per farm were available, which blocked a direct derivation of NLFs for unique combinations of crop type, soil type and natural soil drainage conditions. Results showed that N surplus leached almost completely from the root zone of arable land on the most vulnerable soils, that is, deep, well-drained sandy soils (95% confidence interval of NLF 0.80–0.99), while for grassland only half of the N surplus leached from the root zone of grassland (0.39–0.49). The NLF for grassland decreased with 0.015 units/year, which is postulated to be due to a decreased grazing and increased year-round housing of dairy cows. NLFs are positively correlated with precipitation surplus (0.05 units/100 mm for dairy farms and 0.10 units/100 mm for arable farms). Therefore, an increase in precipitation due to climate change may lead to an increase in leaching of nitrate

Quickscan amendement voeder-mestovereenkomsten

Het stelsel van verantwoorde en grondgebonden groei van de melkveehouderij begrenst de ontwikkeling van melkveebedrijven. Bedrijven met een melkveefosfaatoverschot van meer dan 20 kg per ha moeten grond verwerven als ze willen groeien. De eventuele invoering van voedermestovereenkomsten maakt groei van melkveebedrijven mogelijk zonder dat deze zelf grond verwerven. In deze nota wordt becijferd dat, zonder rekening te houden met andere begrenzingen zoals een fosfaatrechtenstelsel, de melkveehouderij in Nederland met maximaal 26% zou kunnen groeien. De groei zal vooral in het oostelijke deel kunnen plaatsvinden. Ook wordt ingegaan op uitvoeringsaspecten zoals borging van levering, hoeveelheidsbepaling en oppervlakteregistratie