Environmental time-bomb ticks - farmers weekly

31 DECEMBER 1999 ------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL TIME-BOMB TICKS PIG production in Holland is destined to shrink, though by how much, what method and when remains to be seen. For

several years it has become apparent that the country is sitting on an environmental time-bomb. Despite a rapid fall in the number of pig farmers (by 15,000 between 1986 and 1996), the pig

population has expanded, creating a massive slurry and ammonia surplus. Initial pollution controls involved issuing farmers with phosphate production rights (manure quotas). These were

allocated in the late 1980s, converted into a limit on the number of animals a producer could keep. But the farmer response was to switch out of pig finishing into keeping sows for weaner

production. Overall pig numbers increased regardless, as did the slurry problem. The system of manure quotas was supplemented by the Minas system of mineral control, which penalised farmers

for producing too much phosphate and nitrogen. But the outbreak of classical swine fever in 1997 brought home to government the dangers of having too many pigs on too small an area. More

drastic action was called for, in the form of the 1998 Restructuring Act. Manure quotas were converted into "pig production rights" for each farmer, based on the number of sows

and/or finishers kept in 1996 or 1997. The aim was to reduce these rights by 10% in 1998, and 10% in 1999. But the plan soon ran into trouble, as the government sought to make the cuts

without compensating farmers. "The farmers unions challenged this and the courts found it was illegal for government to take something away without paying for it," says Frans van

Dongen of the Livestock and Meat Products Board (PVV). As such, the Dutch government has had to abandon its plans – creating a major headache for producers who had already bought or sold

production rights and now find they dont exist. Instead, the government has recently come out with an entirely new proposal based on nitrogen limits for livestock farmers, with which it

expects to secure a 30% reduction in the national pig herd. The plan is to impose a maximum manure deposit per hectare, in accordance with the 1991 Nitrates Directive. Farmers will enter

into contracts, limiting the application of nitrogen from manure to 250kg/ha a year on grassland and 170kg/ha a year on other land. These limits will apply in full from 2003. To ensure

compliance, levies charged under the Minas scheme will be increased sharply, to 20Fl/kg (£5.80/kg) for excess phosphate and 5Fl/kg (£1.45/kg) for excess nitrogen. "These manure

contracts will ensure that Dutch farmers do not keep more livestock than there is land available to deposit the manure," says the Dutch ministry of agriculture. "Farmers who do not

have enough land of their own or leased land on which to deposit their manure will be able to apply for financial aid to cease operations." The ministry estimates that its policy will

lead to a 25-30% drop in pig numbers and set in motion a complete restructuring of the livestock sector, (while helping the country meet the terms of the Nitrates Directive). Mr van Dongen

of the PVL agrees the new legislation will have teeth, though estimates the fall in pig numbers at a more modest 15-20%. A budget of 1.5bnFl (£441m) is being set aside for the next ten years

to finance a range of socio-economic measures to help affected farmers deal with the upheaval. DUTCH PIG FACTS 1998 _ Holland UK_ _Total pig herd 13.4m 8.2m_ _Pigs for fattening 6.6m_

_Piglets 5.0m_ _Sows 1.8m 0.8m_ _Total number of pig farms 19,300 14,200_ _Units fattening over 1000 a year 1400 2300_ _Total slaughterings 19.3m 15.6m_ _Slaughterhouses killing over 100,000

a year 24 29_ _Slaughterhouses killing over 1m a year 7_ _Average slaughter weight 88kg 72kg_ _Total pigmeat production 1.8m t 1.2m t_ _Pork exports 768,000t 200,000t_ _Bacon exports

117,000t 9000t_ _Meat products 75,000t 13,000t_ _Live exports* 110,000t _ _ 2m piglets_ _ 1m finishers_ _Domestic consumption 44kg/hd/yr 23kg/hd/yr_ _Aujeszky-free status_ _* Pre-classical

swine fever, 6.5m live pigs were exported_