Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food quality

The Dutch agricultural sector is highly developed. Large amounts of manure and fertilisers are used on the intensively farmed land. The Dutch herd is also large and produces a great deal of manure.

The excessive use of manure and fertilisers produces nitrogen and phosphate, which pollute soil and water and adversely affect natural biodiversity and groundwater which is used for drinking water. A manure and fertiliser policy is in place to limit these negative effects as much as possible.

Dutch manure and fertiliser policy

The main planks of this policy are:

• The introduction of use standards to limit the amount of nitrogen and phosphate in crop production.
• Rules for the transport of manure.
• Rules for the application of manure and the times when this can be done.
• A system of animal production rights that limits the number of animals that can be kept.
• Rules for the processing of manure into products used outside the agricultural sector.

This policy applies as of 1 January 2006. Former Dutch manure and fertiliser policy had to be adapted as it failed to meet the requirements laid down in the Nitrogen Directive. This has now been remedied.