Corn seed sales in the Netherlands have been slowed down in recent weeks

Maize (Corn) Seed

Published Feb 24, 2024

Tridge summary

In response to farmers' protests, France has proposed to eliminate the obligation to set aside 4% of land, a move supported by Agriculture Minister Piet Adema and the European Commission. However, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency has deemed the proposal technically unfeasible, causing a drop in corn orders and seed sales. Despite this, most corn varieties remain available. The corn can only be sown in mid-May to prevent structural damage, and this year, there may be fewer options for undersowing due to late sowing and harvest times.

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Original content

Partly due to the farmers' protests, France proposed in early February to abolish the set-aside obligation for 4 percent of the area. Initially, Agriculture Minister Piet Adema supported this proposal, which was also adopted by the European Commission. But the Netherlands Enterprise Agency already announced before this committee decision that the proposal is not technically feasible. From March 1, entrepreneurs can submit their Combined Declaration. There is too little time to adjust this via software. Due to this uncertainty, agricultural entrepreneurs do not know how to draw up their construction plan. From the beginning of February, less corn will be ordered. Before that, at the end of 2023 and in January of this year, seed sales were the same as in other years, says representative Frank Schepens of VisscherHolland. According to Schepens, due to this uncertainty, 65 percent of all seeds were sold by mid-February. This means that sales are now 20 percent behind previous years. ...

Source: Nieuwe Oogst