Minister rejects exemption for vegetable growers over nitrogen rules

Denmark’s minister for nature and animal welfare is rejecting calls to exempt vegetable growers from new nitrogen regulations, DR reports, despite warnings that the rules could make production too expensive and force some farms to close.

Christian Rabjerg Madsen says reducing nitrogen emissions is essential to restoring life in Denmark’s fjords. The regulations are expected to be finally approved by Parliament next week.

“It is absolutely crucial that we implement the nitrogen reduction, because it is a prerequisite for bringing life back to our fjords,” Madsen said.

He also warned that exempting vegetable growers could encourage production to move to land not covered by the rules.

The growers’ concerns stem from the Green Tripartite agreement, which from January 1 will impose a fixed limit on how much nitrogen may be emitted from each field.

Vegetable growers would be particularly affected because vegetables are harvested while they are still growing, leaving more nitrogen in the soil than crops such as grain, according to the article.

Preliminary calculations from the Danish Organic Association indicate that for every hectare used to grow vegetables, between two and six hectares without vegetables may have to be set aside.

For onion grower Valdemar Clausen from northern Funen, that could mean leaving up to 15 to 20 percent of his total land unused, compared with four percent today. He would need to acquire more fields to maintain his current production.

“I have spent seven years on this, but I may be forced to stop my production,” Clausen said.

Minister promises review of the rules

The call for an exemption has also been driven by the fact that vegetables are grown on only about 0.3 percent of Denmark’s total agricultural area. Madsen said that would not change his position.

“We cannot simply exempt one sector, because then we risk the area exempted from the regulation becoming much larger in the coming years,” he said.

“Then we would be moving towards a reduction that we would not achieve. And we would continue to see Vejle Fjord, where some of your colleagues have dived for 72 hours without finding a single fish, or at least very, very few fish,” Madsen said.

Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen, a professor at Aarhus University who researches sustainable production of vegetables, fruit and berries, agreed that the rules would hit Danish vegetable production hard.

“The calculation model was developed for major agricultural crops such as grain. So it does not fit vegetables. It simply has not been tested against the knowledge we have about vegetables,” she said.

Kristensen said she understood the growers’ frustration at having to adapt to regulation and legislation that appeared unsuitable and would create a substantial financial burden.

Madsen acknowledged that the basis for calculating nitrogen leaching from vegetable production was weaker than it was for crops such as grain and wheat. He said an expert committee would be asked to review the scientific basis.

He said the government was also considering measures other than setting land aside, including moving vegetable production to more robust soils with different nitrogen leaching characteristics.

“That is why we are providing agriculture with compensation worth billions as part of this transition,” Madsen said.

He added that any changes would have to remain within the agreed nitrogen reduction targets.