In this study, an overview is presented of agricultural policies on
manure and minerals, relating to the Nitrate Directive to remedy
excessive surface- and groundwater contamination from intensive
agricultural practices. Six countries belonging to the European Union
were studied: the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and the
United Kingdom. The policies and their legal incorporation were related
to agricultural and environmental conditions in each country. In
addition, an inventory was made of agricultural mineral poli- cies in
the United States and Canada. Conditions for livestock farming in North
America differ considerably from those in Europe, but their solutions
shed a different light on European policies. Research has shown that
there are still very considerable mineral surpluses in many countries
and regions. In both the Netherlands and in the Flemish part of Belgium,
existing problems due to very high levels of manure production are
structural rather than local and cannot easily be solved by transport of
manure to other regions. To a lesser extent. Germany, Denmark and
relatively small parts of France (Brittany) and the United Kingdom,
still exceed the norms for an equilibrium fertilization. In Denmark,
existing problems can probably be solved within the existing legislative
framework. The Netherlands, Flanders. several German Lander
(Nordrhein-Westfalen and Schleswig-Holstein) and Brittany.