Results 2017 derogation monitoring network available on Agrimatie |
09/09/2019 |
In the derogation monitoring network of the Minerals Policy Monitoring Programme (LMM), Wageningen Economic Research and the RIVM annually monitor water quality and agricultural practice on 'farms registered for derogation'. The derogation monitoring network is a consequence of the derogation to the Nitrate Directive that the Netherlands has had since 2006. With this derogation, companies with at least 80% grass in the building plan may, under certain conditions, use more nitrogen from grazing livestock manure than the 170 kg nitrogen per ha that the European Nitrate Directive prescribes as a maximum. Minister Carola Schouten presented the report "Agricultural practice and water quality on farms registered for derogation in 2017" to the House of Representatives on 28 June, making the results publicly available. At Agrimatie, the new results of the derogation monitoring network have been incorporated into 8 well-arranged articles.
Composition and regions
The derogation monitoring network consists of 300 farms, of which approximately 87% are dairy farms and approximately 13% "other grassland farms". The results are presented for the group of farms, but also per region. Five regions are distinguished: Sand 230, Sand 250, Clay, Peat and Loess. Farms in the Sand 230 Region may use a maximum of 230 kg of nitrogen from grazing animal manure per hectare on sandy soil. This concerns farms located in the Sand Region in the provinces of Overijssel, Gelderland, Utrecht, Noord-Brabant and Limburg. If these farms also have plots with peat or clay soils, they may fertilise up to 250 kg of nitrogen per hectare from grazing animal manure on those plots. The Sand Region 250 concerns the companies in the other part of the Sand Region, where sand up to a maximum of 250 kg nitrogen per hectare from grazing animal manure may also be used.
Thematically inserted articles
The results of the derogation monitoring network are presented in various articles. Each article discusses a theme where several indicators are shown in one or more figures. There are eight articles:
1. Milk production (per farm, per hectare of forage crop and per cow)
2. Nitrogen fertilisation
3. Phosphate fertilisation
4. Crop yields (for both grassland and silage maize)
5. Nitrogen farm surplus
6. Nitrogen soil surplus
7. Phosphate soil surplus
8. Nitrate concentration in the leaching water
The establishment
Results from the derogation monitoring network are available for agricultural practice in the 2006 to 2017 period (with nitrate concentrations in the 2007 to 2018 period being presented). The data for 2017 was obtained in the year 2018 by collecting all invoices and additional data for the year 2017. This was ready by September 2018. Subsequently, the accounting records were drawn up for each company, after which the data were checked and, possibly after correction of imperfections, approved for investigation. At the start of 2019, the indicators were calculated, and the results described based on the approved data.
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