The Netherlands

4949 COOPERATOR.COOP – MARCH 2018 Their secret is based on technology - science, knowledge and efficiency. However, the Netherlands is also the cradle of the fipronil-contaminated egg scandal (see box p. 53). And the last elections have propelled the Animal Party (a first in the world), which will further increase the pressure for animal welfare. HIGH-COUNTRY WORDS FABRICTED WITH VACHE BOUSE!

By making his models scroll with his haute couture clothes made - and with cow's dung, the Dutch artist Jalila Essaïdi tries to reconcile the 16 million Dutch with their farmers. 2 Some 80% of the milk produced by the 3.9 million cows in the Netherlands is exported. But the feeling that THE NETHERLANDS, which IS SUPERFICIOUS, IS 40 TIMES MORE SMALL THAN QUEBEC, CAN BE THE SECOND AGRO-FOOD EXPORTER IN THE WORLD, AFTER THE UNITED STATES? TEXT AND PHOTOS OF NICOLAS MESLY "Chinese children drink high quality milk while we, we bathe in shit and zoonoses" is shared by half of the population, explains Dr. Martin Scholten, director of the Animal Sciences Department of the University of Wageningen.

The Netherlands is home to one of the world's densest populations of humans and animals (vaches, pigs, poultry). According to Dr Scholten, Dutch farmers use the same recipe as their horticultural colleagues, who are known worldwide for their vanguard. It is a "intensive intel-ligente agriculture", based on a very high degree of technology, knowledge and efficiency. Animal waste remains a challenge.

"Fowl fiente is the easiest to treat," says Ferry Leenstra, a member of the Dutch' multidisciplinary team, does not export just tulips! But dairy products, pork. poultry... For a value of $137 billion CA1.More than 17 times the exports from Quebec! 1 2016 data 2 jalilaessasaidi.com/cowmanure 5050 COOPERATOR.COOP – MARCH 2018

Some 30% of poultry feces are spread in the fields, 35% are exported in the form of fertilizer and 35% are used to manufacture electricity. BMC 3 is the only European cooperative of its kind, producing "green electricity" and flowing annually - some 60,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer. Pig slurry costs on average €50,000 ($75,000) per producer to dispose of it – this treated slurry is widely exported to Germany. The Netherlands has enough land to spread cow manure, but the European Parliament has just ordered them to saber the national herd by 10% to meet a production phosphorus quota and protect the environment.

Erwin Wunnekirk, a member of the supervisory committee of Friesland Campina, the world's sixth largest dairy processor, admits that "there is no longer much room for growth in the Netherlands." The cooperative is looking to farmers in Belgium and Germany to ensure a 5% growth rate in certain dairy products and to achieve a turnover of EUR 15 billion by 2020. Friesland Campina is a Dutch agri-food producer who invests in research and development to reduce its carbon footprint and GHG emissions.

The cooperative has a research centre at the University of Wageningen, which targets among other things genetics and animal nutrition. As for processing, the latest factory for the manufacture of infant milk powder – precisely for Chinese children – is fed "in green energy" by a ultramodern biodi - gesturer inaugurated in 2017. The same biodigester will produce mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) from manure from about the farms in autumn 2018.

We hope to export the technology developed on the site to all corners of the world."This is what I call a circular economy!" Martin Scholten launches. This slurry and waste processing plant built near the Wunnekirk farm will cover a quarter of the energy needs of a new infant milk powder factory, mostly for Chinese children. 2. According to Erwin Wunnekirk, there is no longer much space for the growth of dairy production in the Netherlands.

His son Rick, 19, studies in animal sciences and prepares himself to take over the farm of a hundred lactating cows. 3 www.bmcmoerdijk.nl/en/home.htm 1 2 5151 COOPERATOR.COOP – MARCH 2018 AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Dutch farmers are five times more efficient than the average of European producers, and "it's not because we're paid five times more for our meat, milk or eggs," explains Dr Martin Scholten. This efficiency is based on three pillars, according to him: 1. Access for producers to first-class animal genetics. The country houses companies like Hendrix Genetics (porcs, poultry and others) and CRV (vaches).

"We are obviously very proud of Holstein-Friesian," says Dr. Scholten. "We believe that Dutch companies hold between 20 and 25 % of the world market for animal genetics. 2. The unparalleled expertise of Dutch companies in the manufacture of animal feed and supplements. This industry benefits from the port of Rotterdam, which gives access to maize and soybeans, mainly from Brazil. 3.

Animal health and welfare. It is the cornerstone of the Dutch animal production strategy. Everything goes through the digestive health of a chick, piglet or calf in the first days of life. A beast with healthy intestinal flora converts its food better – especially ruminants.

"We get a 25 to 30% higher food conversion rate than elsewhere," says Dr. Scholten. "And an animal with a good microbial flora is better resistant to disease. ANTIBIOTIC AID "Just five years ago, we were Europe's first antibiotic user. Today, we are good last, because we have replaced antibiotics with animal health and well-being," says Dr. Martin Scholten, whose team has contributed to research and solutions to achieve this result.

It was a public health crisis – one of the worst outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, which officially killed 26 people and over 4000 people from 2007 to 2011 – that sparked change."The public has come to realize that the production of animals intene - live produced bacteria resistant to antibiotics from animals to humans," says Dr. Bas Kemp, a specialist in animal behaviour and welfare. "The sick people would die in hospitals despite the treatments."Social pressure has been all the more strong as the farmers have been compensated for their animals slaughtered during the crisis, while the relatives of the victims have not been compensated, says economist Krijn J.

From 2007 to 2016, the use of antimicrobial veterinary medicinal products was reduced by 69%, from 565 tonnes to 176 tonnes per year (see graph p. 53). And Dutch farmers use the strict Dr. Martin Sholten, Director of the Animal Sciences Department of the University of Wageningen. This agricultural university of 10,000 students is recognized worldwide for its work and serves as a breeding ground for the most successful agri-food companies in the Netherlands. 5252 COOPERATOR.COOP – MARCH 2018 minimum of antibiotics critical to human health.

The cornerstone of Dutch animal production is today digestive health, especially from the very first days of life of a chick, piglet or calf. To satisfy animal welfare, producers can make small changes in their facilities without investing huge sums – and they also gain health, according to Dr. Bas Kemp. For example, the latter has carried out an experiment with a pig breeder: piglets could find food with their mother.

This learning with sow don - born of much more resilient animals during weaning and post-weaning, he says; they suffered less diarrhea, were less prone to bite and were less stressed throughout their lives."It's the principle that mom knows better than anyone what is best for us," he says. "Is it likely that the election last March of four members of the Animal Party would put even more weight on the shoulders of the breeders?"We need a social contract to produce.

The Animal Party is not a threat. We must do with it, find solutions and draw the line between what is realistic or not," concludes Dr. Bas Kemp. "The PORCINE INDUSTRY, MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE NUCLEAR? "In the Netherlands, it is more difficult to build a pig house than a factory!" says, half-serious, mimoqueur, Tonny Nooyen, owner with his five brothers of the Nooyen company, who manufactures flooring for porch - laughs.

The company sells its products in 49 countries, including Canada. But it is in a small village near the city of Eindhoven that it was born, with the Dutch pig industry, one of the most successful in the world. The Eindhoven region, located near the Belgian border, is one of the poorest in the Netherlands. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the authorities encourage the unemployed families to settle in it and to start producing pigs, as they see a strong economic potential.

The Nooyen respond to the call. The shock is that the rapid development of this production is carried out on sandy soil. Thus over time, problems of groundwater contamination, noise, odour and cohabitation are accumulating. The government legislates on "pig law" in 1997 and has capped around 27 million pigs per year since annual production.

It's three times more than Quebec production! Less than 10 minutes away from the Nooyen family home, we're going to a young couple of producers, Karen and Ruud Backus. At the end of the 30s, they just tripled their farm, from 425 to 1400 sows, after obtaining the green light from the authorities. To build their two new state-of-the-art pigs, they took a loan of 2.5 million euros (CAD 3.75 million).

Why triple the farm? "We've been treated like crazy! But we have no choice but to grow, demand is there!" Karen answers. Karen says in her company in the midst of expansion, she wean 32.3 piglets per sow per year, while the national average is 28.

The Netherlands has drastically reduced the use of these products by relying on animal hygiene and welfare.1 Karen predicts that 80% of the 48,000 piglets produced in the two new pigs will be transported to Germany. The Netherlands, like Denmark, is serving as a 1.

This employee of the Dutch manufacturer Nooyen covers a pig-house floor with a PVC-resistant coating, the formula of which is patented and which allows an effective cleaning to eliminate pathogens. The Nooyen factory is still operating in the Netherlands, at the border of Belgium. The Nooyen sold their last Dutch pig-house in 2004 to establish it in Spain, where they are used to test their products. 2. Gerard Driessen, president of the Netherlands section of European pig-farmers, invested 1.5 million euros (CAD $2.25 million) in a biodigester, installed at one of its five production sites. 3.

The couple formed by Karen and Ruud Backus has invested 2.5 million euros (CAD 3.75 million) in two new pigries, in order to triple their production. 2 1 1 See text Antibiotic farewell p. 51 5353 COOPERATOR.COOP – MARCH 2018 nursery to the first European pigpower that is Germany. The farm of the Backus has 40 ha, of which 30 are rented. Not enough area to spread all the manure produced. Dutch pig producers pay an average of 50,000 euros (CAD 75,000) per year to get rid of their manure2.

The couple believes, however, that their company will now be able to run at a cruising speed until 2030. For these two farmers, who come from the agricultural sector, it is still too early to talk about respite, their three young children being only four to seven years old. But the relief and social pressure are two issues that worry Gerard Driessen, president of the Netherlands section of European Pig Breeders. "I fear for the future of the family farm and I fear that we will head towards the American business model," he says.

The country now has 4000 producers and, according to him, 10% of them produce 80% of the animals. As for the slaughter sector, it is dominated by only one actor, Vion, a former cooperative. Gerard Driessen owns five production sites and produces some 110,000 pigs a year. The site where we meet him is the size of a handkerchief – less than two hectares.

A 600 kWh biodigester processes 40,000 metric tonnes of organic matter; half of it is made from manure produced on the farm, and half is from restaurant and supermarket waste. An investment costing 1.5 million euros (CAD $2.25 million). Driessen makes it profitable by selling the energy needed to light up the traffic lights in his village, among other things. Before you go along a wall of the pig house where, through glass windows, you can see pigs with fertilizer, there are several educational and promotional panels, one of which is intended for children.

While societal pressure has certainly changed the practices of farmers, whether in terms of antibiotic use or castration (prohibited since 2015), "the most critical people are welcome on the farm," says Gerard Driessen. "In the "false news" era, young Dutch students discover here where their chop comes from and that manure is not radioactive waste."FIPRONIL SCANDAL, A DUR COUP FOR THE NÉERLANDAISE AVICOL INDUSTRY The scandal broke out in the Netherlands in July 2017, when authorities announced that they had detected fipronil in hundreds of thousands of eggs.

It is prohibited to use this insecticide against lice and ticks on animals intended for consumption. An investigation is still under way into the "miracle product" which was used to kill red lice, a nightmare of any poultry breeder, in 200 poultry-farmers. Two of the owners of the Dutch company involved in the fraud are now in prison. The contaminated eggs were found in 15 countries of the European Union, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

"The scandal cost Dutch farmers 33 million euros [49.5 million CAD], not to mention the cost of removing eggs in the large supermarket chains across Europe," calculated Krijn Poppe, Senior Economist at the University of Wageningen. According to this expert, in addition to the economic losses suffered, it is the image of the industry that has been tarnished. 2 Interview with Krijn J. Poppe, Senior Economist, Department of Economics, University of Wageningen, 29 September 2017. SALE OF ANTIMICROBIAN VETERINARY MEDICINAL PRODUCTS, 1999 TO 2016 IN KG (MILLARY) Active substance (1000 kg) Year