More than five hundred pig farmers want to be bought out NOW

503 registrations of pig farmers who want to be bought out have arrived at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV). That is more than the government expected: the reserved amount of 180 million euros is likely to be exceeded, the ministry announced on Thursday.

It is not yet clear how much money is involved; the number of 503 pig farmers is not yet definitive.

Pig farmers could register up to and including 15 January if they wanted to be bought out by the government. They are then not allowed to start a new pig farm at a different location.

The subsidy scheme was already agreed in the 2017 coalition agreement, so even before the Council of State banned the government’s nitrogen policy. Voluntary stopping of pig farmers has to do with odor nuisance, especially for people who live within 1 kilometer of pig farming.

But these farms also emit nitrogen and CO2, two other substances that the government wants to reduce in view of the climate and the environment. With that knowledge in mind, it is interesting for politicians to see if farmers are willing to stop their business in exchange for financial compensation.

Farmers must meet a number of requirements to be bought out

These figures say something about the interest of the farmers to be bought out, but that does not mean that this also happens. For example, farmers must meet a number of requirements.

First of all, a company must be located in the east or the south of the Netherlands, the areas where the concentration of pig farmers is highest and where therefore the most odor nuisance comes from. The ministry then looks at the extent to which the farms cause odor nuisance, expressed in the so-called ‘odor score’.

In April, farmers who have registered will be informed whether they are eligible for the purchase scheme.

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