Vegetable producers are exempt from the new nitrogen regulation in 2027: "We will not be exempted, and we shouldn't be"

9/1/2026

Vegetable producers—both conventional and organic—should have better opportunities to adapt to a new fertilization law. Therefore, they are exempted from the new nitrogen regulation model, which is set to take effect next year. On the current lands, vegetable producers will instead follow the existing nitrogen standards until January 1, 2028. This is stated by the Ministry of Nature and Animal Welfare in a press release. The exemption is part of an additional agreement that also includes other clarifications and measures. It is a result of recent weeks of harsh criticism from the agricultural sector, which believed that the announced fertilization law, aimed at reducing nutrient emissions and restoring life in our waters, would disproportionately impact vegetable producers. The law also threatened the political goal of strengthening Danish fruit and vegetable production, as both the organic and conventional sectors assessed that large parts of their production risked shutting down. Acknowledging the challenge, Richard de Visser, chairman of the Fruit and Vegetable Committee in the Organic Association, and Sybille Kyed, the association’s political chief, have been in dialogue with politicians in recent weeks to alert them to the problem. Especially in the past week, Richard de Visser moved from skepticism to optimism as he sensed that concerns were beginning to be heard. "Now we have received an exemption for one year, which was what we aimed for—knowing that it doesn’t solve the problem, because we have structural challenges, but at least we have another year to work on it. The challenge is that we lack data and measures that can be recognized by the authorities—we need to find those first. But the most important thing is that politicians have understood the message that their original proposal was unfortunately a problem for the entire production," says Richard de Visser to Organic Now. One consequence of the new rules would be that vegetable producers would have to leave between two and up to six hectares fallow for each hectare of vegetables to compensate for nitrogen emissions, which most could not afford. "We openly acknowledge that our industry faces challenges with leaching, as vegetable production is not good at retaining nutrients. We really need to work on finding solutions that are feasible for everyone and can be recognized by the authorities so that we are not in the same situation next year. This is only a delay; we are not exempting ourselves, and we shouldn’t be," emphasizes Richard de Visser. The Minister remains firm on ambitions. Minister of Nature and Animal Welfare Christian Rabjerg Madsen (S) calls it "common sense" that vegetable growers are exempted for a year. "I am very aware of the conditions for the country’s vegetable producers, who today occupy a modest part of the total agricultural land but are set to be heavily affected by the new nitrogen regulation. Therefore, it makes sense to temporarily exempt lands with vegetable production from the new nitrogen regulation model. For the same reason, I have asked experts to quickly review the requirements we impose, including on vegetable producers. However, the exemption does not change the fact that the new nitrogen regulation remains crucial to address the massive challenges we face with our water environment and the seas around us. I stand unwavering on the ambitions of the green tripartite agreement. We need a greener Denmark, and we need life back in our fjords and coastal waters," he states in a press release. Richard de Visser hopes that the Organic Association can become part of the expert panel tasked with finding a solution. The panel’s goal is to review the overall knowledge base regarding nitrogen leaching from the cultivation of vegetables and potatoes, so that regulations can be adjusted quickly if there is scientific support for changes. A correction will be made to the data basis to reflect the extent of waterlogged sandy soils in the calculation of fallow points when final emission limits are announced in September 2026. This was not the case in the preliminary emission limits published in July 2026. Once the final emission limits are announced, the Minister of Nature and Animal Welfare, in cooperation with the Local Government Denmark (KL), will reach out to the local green tripartite groups where the final intervention needs will be significantly greater than previously anticipated. The legislative proposal for the new nitrogen regulation model is scheduled for third reading in the Parliament on Thursday, September 3.

Vegetable producers - both conventional and organic - should have better opportunities to adapt to a new fertilization law.

Therefore, they are exempted from the new nitrogen regulation model, which is set to come into force next year. On the current lands, vegetable producers will instead follow the existing nitrogen norms until January 1, 2028.

This is stated by the Ministry of Environment and Animal Welfare in a press release.

The exemption is part of an additional agreement, which also includes other clarifications and measures. It is a result of the recent weeks' harsh criticism from the agricultural sector, which believed that the announced fertilization law, aimed at reducing nutrient emissions and restoring life in our waters, would disproportionately impact vegetable producers.

The law also threatened the political ambition to strengthen Danish fruit and vegetable production, as both the organic and conventional sectors assessed that large parts of the production risked shutting down.

Recognizing the challenge

Richard de Visser, chairman of the Fruit and Vegetable Committee in the Organic Association, and Sybille Kyed, the association's political chief, have been in dialogue with politicians in recent weeks to make them aware of the problem. Especially in the past week, Richard de Visser shifted from being skeptical to positive as he sensed that the concerns were beginning to be listened to.

"Now we have received an exemption for one year, which was what we aimed for - knowing that it doesn't solve the problem, because we have some structural challenges, but now we at least have another year to work on it. The challenge is that we lack data and measures that can be recognized by the authorities - that is what we need to find first. But the most important thing is that politicians have understood the message that their original proposal was unfortunately a problem for the entire production," says Richard de Visser to Organic Now.

A consequence of the new rules would be that vegetable producers would have to leave from two up to six hectares fallow for each hectare of vegetables to compensate for nitrogen emissions, which most would not be able to afford.

"We openly acknowledge that our sector has a challenge with leaching, as vegetable production is not good at retaining nutrients. We really need to work on finding solutions that are acceptable to everyone and can be recognized by the authorities, so we don't face the same situation next year. This is only a postponement; we will not be exempted, and we shouldn't be," emphasizes Richard de Visser.

Minister remains firm on ambitions

Minister of Environment and Animal Welfare Christian Rabjerg Madsen (S) calls it "common sense" that vegetable growers are exempted for a year.

"I am very aware of the conditions for the country's vegetable producers, who today occupy a modest part of the total agricultural land, but who are set to be heavily affected by the new nitrogen regulation. Therefore, it is common sense that we temporarily exempt lands with vegetable production from the new nitrogen regulation model. For the same reason, I have asked experts to quickly examine the requirements we impose, including on vegetable producers. However, the exemption does not change the fact that the new nitrogen regulation remains crucial to address the massive challenges we face with our water environment and in the seas around us. As for the ambitions in the green tripartite, I remain unwavering. We need a greener Denmark, and we need life back in our fjords and coastal waters," he states in a press release.

Richard de Visser hopes that the Organic Association can become part of the expert panel that will work on finding a solution.

The goal of the panel is to review the overall knowledge base regarding nitrogen leaching from the cultivation of vegetables and potatoes, so that regulation can be adjusted quickly if there is scientific support for changes.

A correction will be made to the data basis so that the extent of waterlogged sandy soils is reflected in the basis for calculating the fallow point when the final emission limits are announced in September 2026. This was not the case in the preliminary emission limits published in July 2026.

Once the final emission limits are announced, the Minister of Environment and Animal Welfare, in cooperation with the Municipalities (KL), will reach out to the local green tripartite groups where the final intervention needs will be significantly greater than previously anticipated.

The legislative proposal for the new nitrogen regulation model is scheduled for third reading in the Parliament on Thursday, September 3.