Dutch Government Plans to Shrink Hog Industry

(Bloomberg) --

The Dutch government plans to make its pig farmers pass a smell test: hog operations causing the greatest odor nuisance will be most likely to receive a payout aimed at shrinking the country’s swine herd.

Starting Monday, farmers in parts of the Netherlands can apply for compensation to scrap their pig-holding rights, thereby ending their business, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Monday. The government will also compensate farmers for the loss of value of pig stabling.

The government says fewer pigs means less odor nuisance and a better living environment, as well lower emissions of ammonia, in the European country with the most cows and pigs relative to land area. The Netherlands is under pressure from a court ruling to cut nitrogen emissions, and sees lowering highway speed limits and cutting back on pig farming as first partial fixes.

“We’re facing an important task: making the pig industry more sustainable and future proof,” Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten said. “For farmers who continue, there will be a measure early next year targeted at innovation and reducing emissions.”

Pig farms will be graded on an odor scale, with those higher on the smell score more likely to claim a termination subsidy, according to the ministry. Aid will be available only for areas of high livestock density in the east and south of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is the world’s second-biggest agricultural exporter after the U.S., and farming is the country’s biggest single contributor to nitrogen emissions. The government will pay farmers as much as 151 euros ($166) for every scrapped pig right in the south, while those in the east will get 52 euros for every right they give up, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency said Friday.

After the registration period closes Jan. 15, farmers eligible for aid will have eight months to get rid of their pigs and clean up manure.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ellen Proper in Amsterdam at eproper@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Joost Akkermans, Rudy Ruitenberg

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