CONO Kaasmakers is disappointed with the nitrogen plans that the Minister of Nature and Nitrogen presented last Friday. The unrealistic plans are based on models rather than measurements, have disastrous consequences for dairy farming and food security, and will not solve the problems outlined.

The Dutch dairy sector is constantly making an important contribution to the global food supply. This is not a luxury, but a basic need. Dutch dairy farming is located in a very fertile delta, a place where agriculture still fits in very well. Dutch dairy farming is at the top of the world in terms of sustainability and animal welfare. In recent years, the sector has continuously innovated to contribute to a better environment and climate.

The plans of the Minister for Nature and Nitrogen will wipe families who have passed on their craftsmanship from generation to generation and who continue to innovate their family business off the map with a single stroke of the pen. The countryside is in danger of being razed to the ground, with the loss of social services and jobs in the broad agricultural chain.

CONO Kaasmakers urges the provincial and national governments to revise the nitrogen plans with a new realism and to recognise the value of Dutch dairy farming for nature and landscape, for food security, for the economy and for the social values of our country. Go to together with the sector and reconnect with nature, of which dairy farming is an unmistakable part.