The idea behind this collaboration is to make it easier for farmers to invest in Lely Sphere. FrieslandCampina will pay companies a fee, then Lely offers a discount on the purchase of the system and Rabobank has put together a favorable loan terms package. The parties hope the trial will encourage the government to give more incentives to initiatives to make agriculture more sustainable.

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In the Netherlands, fierce farmers’ protests erupted weeks ago because farmers do not agree with the government’s nitrogen policy. “With FrieslandCampina and Rabobank, we want to contribute to alternatives to existing Cabinet plans regarding the national nitrogen problem,” Andre Van Trost, CEO of Lely, said in a statement. “Instead of reducing livestock and compensating dairy farmers for it, we believe in investing in research and technology innovations to stimulate circular livestock farming and make farming more sustainable.”

Farmers who wish to participate in the trial can sign up for it. The intention is for the first Lely Spheres to be installed after the summer. Next year, the collaboration partners will discuss the results of the experiment. They hope that this technical solution will eventually be applied on a larger scale in the sector.