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A farmer in Germany has wrapped one of his cows in a nappy to protest an EU directive designed to stop manure polluting waterways.
Johann Huber and the Bavarian Farmers Union (BBV) wanted to highlight the “impracticality” of an EU directive, that they said will ban the grazing of livestock and prohibit fertilisation of slopes of more than 15% gradient in order to stop manure leaching into rivers and streams.
Huber’s farm is considerably hilly, like many in Bavaria. BBV president Anton Kreitmair said a ban on using these pastures would decimate local agriculture. “In Bavaria, no fertilisation would be possible on half of the cultivated areas and 10% of the meadows and arable land could no longer be managed in the future.”
The edict in question is the EU’s nitrate directive. The legislation requires member countries to limit the amount of nitrates leaching into waterways and groundwater. The EU Environment Commission has asked members to submit “action programmes” to ensure that the amount of nitrogen in manure being dumped on pastures was below 170kg per hectare per year. The EU must approve the plans.
The directive also requires states to design and implement good agricultural practices, which will be compulsory in areas designated as vulnerable to nitrate pollution. These would likely require farmers to limit the application of fertilisers to steep pastures. But a spokesperson for the Commission said the “directive does not foresee a ban on grazing animals on sloping land”.
While it is unlikely that Huber will have to stop running cattle (or be forced into the world’s most undesirable laundry routine), it is true that farmers of steep country across Europe may need to adapt their regimes.
In formulating their policies, countries must strike a balance between the impact on farmers and the serious health and biodiversity risks associated with nitrate pollution.
Between 2008 and 2011, EU scientists found dangerous levels of nitrates in 14.4% of sites where they monitor groundwater. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says these levels in drinking water can harm pregnant women and babies.
Hans van Grinsven, a Dutch researcher who has studied the European response to agricultural nitrate pollution, said high levels of nitrates can cause lakes to become choked with algae, weeds and mass fish deaths. Coastal environments have also become increasingly polluted with the runoff.
Van Grinsven said low numbers of cattle were generally sustainable. The EU directive’s limit of 170kg per hectare per year equates to around two cows per hectare. But across Europe there is a drive to place more cattle on the land.
“I think it is well established that there is a direct connection between intense cattle farming and pollution,” said van Grinsven. “When you start intensifying the amounts of cattle and sheep on steeply sloping land and it rains the manure nitrogen ends up in the stream.”
He said limits on farming on steeps slopes “can be very effective in protecting sensitive and ecologically relevant surface waters”. The UK has responded to the EU directive by banning the use of manure fertilisers on slopes in excess of 12%.
The EU has started legal proceedings against Germany for its failure to implement an adequate plan to reduce its nitrate pollution, but the Commission spokesperson said they did not expect the result of this proceeding would ban Huber from grazing animals on his land.
