Dries Verhaeghe believes there should be a moratorium on techniques that supposedly make nitrogen emissions disappear.
This newspaper recently reported on an unpublished report from Wageningen University which shows that the technological remedies for nitrogen emissions do not deliver what they promise (DS 12 May). Thousands of Dutch farms appear to emit more nitrogen than previously thought.
The technological remedies in question are ammonia-emission-reducing barns and air scrubbers. Ammonia is a type of nitrogen that is produced when the urine and faeces of animals mix. The low-emission barns attempt to separate urine and manure to reduce ammonia production. An air scrubber cleans the air leaving the barn of ammonia.
In fact, the Wageningen report reveals nothing new. In recent years, numerous reports have emerged in the Netherlands demonstrating that the technological solutions are not nearly as efficient as they are made out to be. They are referred to as 'magic floors' that supposedly make nitrogen emissions disappear magically. Several systems have been banned by the judiciary, and the Dutch court in East Brabant ruled in April 2022 that the emission reductions from those systems cannot be taken into account.
In Flanders, 'measurement campaigns' were also conducted. Equipment is set up at a low-emission livestock barn and the measurement data is tested against the promised yield. These measurement campaigns confirm that theory and practice are far apart. The barns emit more nitrogen than expected. The 'barn management' proves to be of great importance. How conscientious is the farmer in following the guidelines for the use of emission-reducing techniques, does he ensure regular maintenance, is the air scrubber always on, and so on.
The Farmers' Union responded soothingly to the report by stating that the Dutch techniques are not simply adopted here and that Flanders has its own approval committee that sets strict requirements. That is quite a simplification. In practice, manufacturers of low-emission barns have their systems homologated in both the Netherlands and Flanders. The descriptions and promised reduction percentages are largely the same for both countries.
It is true that Flanders has its own approval committee: the Scientific Committee on Air Emissions in Livestock Farming (WeComV). It was restarted after a few years of inactivity. The task is to clear the backlog of new techniques from recent years and to review the existing techniques. The PAS agreement (Programmatic Approach to Nitrogen) provides for close cooperation between the WeComV and Wageningen University. The Flemish approval committee will read the Dutch report with the necessary attention.
Consequences
The consequences of poorly functioning emission-reducing technologies are threefold. Since thousands of Flemish farmers have installed emission-reducing systems that do not work, the nitrogen challenge becomes significantly greater. More nitrogen reduction will be needed, and this will have to come to a greater extent from a reduction in livestock than from emission-reducing techniques. Converting the closed PAS agreement into the PAS decree is a first step, but it will need to be further tightened.
In addition, WeComV must prioritise the re-evaluation of the technologies that are currently approved, one by one, and conduct a measurement campaign where necessary. This involves a few hundred systems, a task that will take years. An essential element is to ensure that the barn achieves the promised efficiency under all circumstances. It is unacceptable that a careless farmer who does not take barn management seriously emits more nitrogen and that our inspection services cannot control this. Insufficiently guaranteed techniques must be eliminated.
Finally, a moratorium on emission-reducing techniques is necessary. In Flanders, barns are still being permitted with techniques that Dutch jurisprudence has explicitly banned or whose efficiency is being questioned. The permitting authorities – which are the municipalities and provinces – complicate the nitrogen problem even further and put the farmers to whom the permits are issued in greater trouble. They have not learned from the saga surrounding the orange and red lists.
As long as an emission-reducing technique has not been re-evaluated and measured, municipalities and provinces cannot allow them in their permits. It is a matter of good governance in the interest of our agriculture, economy, and nature.