I'm in the Netherlands.
Remarkably, this small
nation is the world's
second-largest exporter of food.
But I want to learn
more about a couple
of key environmental issues
facing the livestock sector.
The first is curbing
nitrogen emissions.
I've come to leading
agricultural facility
Wageningen University to meet
nitrogen expert Wim de Vries.
Well, at this moment,
the specific thing
is ammonia that comes
from agriculture.
And on the other hand,
it's nitrogen oxides
that come from traffic and
construction, et cetera.
Nitrogen can be a
ground and water
pollutant and a contributor
to climate change.
It comes from various
sources, but about 40
per cent of the nitrogen
that falls in the Netherlands
is thanks to agriculture.
That's largely due
to a combination
of nitrogen-rich feed,
fertilisers, and animal waste.
And it's been an issue in
the country for a long time.
Since the '80s, the
amount of emissions
have been reduced by 50
per cent, 60 per cent.
But still, we are above critical
levels of nature protection.
So we have to go further.
Now, recent legislation has
frozen the expansion of dairy,
pig, and poultry farms.
Some experts have even suggested
that livestock numbers should
halve.
In response, farmers have taken
to the streets in protest,
concerned about their incomes
and the potential costs
involved.
Well, farmers are angry
because they have the feeling
we have done already so much.
Of all the livestock
farming in the Netherlands,
dairy farms account for about 60
per cent of nitrogen emissions.
That's why I've come to
this dairy farm near Leiden,
where experts from
the university
are working to cut
its nitrogen output.
There are now three areas -
feed, manure, and grazing -
where they can reduce nitrogen
in a very effective way.
But you have to create
awareness about where
the opportunities lie.
When it comes to
feed and grazing,
the aim is for cows
to eat grass or silage
like this, rather than
nitrogen-rich industrial feed.
Meanwhile, techniques
like putting air filters
in the sheds, separating
liquid and solid animal waste,
diluting the manure with
water, and then injecting it
into the ground are
all effective ways
to cut ammonia output.
Are these expensive
techniques, they
require lots of investment?
No, it costs less money.
The important thing is that
the efficiency is bigger.
So at the end of the line
we make money out of it.
Beukeboom's ammonia
emissions have come down
by a quarter in each
of the three years
since adopting these
new techniques.
Experts believe
that a 40 per cent
drop across the Netherlands
is not unrealistic.
But while nitrogen is a
particularly hot topic
right now, I also
want to find out
how the agriculture
industry here
can move towards a wider target
of cutting greenhouse gas
emissions.
Until now, and despite the
effects of the coronavirus,
the European
Commission has said it
will stick with its
ambitious target
to become carbon
neutral by 2050.
As part of that,
Dutch farmers are
aiming to cut their emissions
by about 11per cent by 2030.
I'm on my way to Kipster.
They call themselves the world's
first carbon-neutral farm.
But what exactly does that mean?
And how do you manage to get an
egg with no carbon footprint?
Kipster is home to 42,000 hens.
Farmer Ruud Zanders is using
a variety of techniques
to become fully carbon neutral.
For example, his hens are
of the more efficient white,
egg-laying variety.
And they all live in
state-of-the-art solar
panel-topped coops.
A key part of Zanders'
strategy involves
what he feeds his chickens.
70 per cent of the carbon
footprint of an egg
depends on what you
are feeding your birds.
And we are making a feed
with only waste products,
for example bread or biscuits,
all these kind of things which
we cannot eat anymore or we
don't want to eat anymore.
These waste scraps have
half the carbon footprint
of regular chicken feed.
It looks pretty edible.
I mean, if I wanted to, I
could probably put it my mouth.
This includes sort
of Rice Krispies.
We have toast over
here, which is broken up
with biscuits, and some
broken-off rice cakes, flour,
and everything else.
A Kipster egg costs
around 26 euro cents,
about the same price
as a free-range egg.
The company now has two farms
and plans to have four more
in the US by next year.
It's also in talks with
parties in France, Germany,
Belgium, and the UK.
So the Kipster
business model doesn't
look like a flash in the pan.
What we want to do
is we want to show
the world that it's possible.
We want to export this
concept to other countries.
A huge challenge lies
ahead for Dutch farmers,
but they seem to be taking
steps in the right direction.
And in a country that
exports almost 100 billion euros
a year in agricultural
products, that
could prove significant
for the entire world.
