An application of mixed-integer linear programming to the solution of the manure problem in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands there is a serious manure problem. New legislation restricts the application of manure. It is becoming more difficult to give all manure an acceptable destination (application or processing). To gain a better insight into the logistic problem on a regional level, a decision support system (DSS) is being developed. This DSS can be used on tactical and strategic levels. A model is used to estimate the application on the farm of origin and in the vicinity and to optimize application elsewhere and processing. The optimization is carried out by linear programming or mixed-integer programming depending on whether location aspects and economies of scale are included. Some results are given.