Dutch dairy farmers face the need to keep 95% of their cows

In the Netherlands, dairy farm Martin Neppelenbroek is near the end of the line.

New environmental regulations require him to reduce the number of livestock by 95 percent. He thinks he has to sell his family’s farm.

“I can’t run a farm at 5 percent. For me, it’s over, it’s over,” he said in an interview with The Epoch Times on July 7.

“Due to regulations, you can’t sell to anyone. Nobody wants to buy it. [But] The government wants to buy it.And that’s what they [have] I think it’s those regulations. “

Neppelenbroek said during a recent visit to the Netherlands when Balmakov was speaking to Roman Balmakov, the host of “Facts Matter”, on EpochTV.

Neppelenbroek pointed out that not all farmers need to get rid of so many cows.

People who live far away from the areas protected by Natura 2000, the European Union (EU) agreement on species and habitat conservation, can own more cattle.

This is because the Dutch government’s regulations on nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions are related to the proximity of the site to these protected areas.

Farmers, truck drivers, and others across the Netherlands have partially spurred June 10’s national and regional plans to reduce nitrogen greenhouse gas emissions, nationwide for their vision. Led a protest.

There are Damocles swords hanging above them: the possibility of forced seizure of property by the government.

NOS Nieuws reported that Christianne van der Wal, the country’s minister of nature and nitrogen policy, did not rule out the confiscation of land from uncooperative farmers.

According to a report from the USDA’s Department of Foreign Agriculture, the Dutch government states that the approach means “everyone has no future.” [Dutch] farmers. “

Currently, there are about 130 dairy cows on more than 170 acres of Neppelenbroek. It’s been in his family for half a century.

“I’m the second generation,” he said, adding that many Dutch farms have been in the family for much longer.

The Netherlands is far more than its weight in agriculture. Small coastal countries are one of the top 10 food exporters in the world.

“If you don’t have much space, you need to use it as effectively as possible,” says Neppelenbroek.

“It’s a delta, the climate isn’t too hot and not too cold. It’s an ideal place to grow.”

Cows recognized by Neppelenbroek produce large amounts of ammonia from their excrement.

Still, “you can’t blame just one small group in your country for polluting the environment,” he said, adding that farmers feel they are overloaded.

He argued that closing a Dutch farm only required food imports from elsewhere.

He said cow dung can help with soil health. Indeed, it is more beneficial than synthetic fertilizers that need to replace cow dung.

Cows can also be given leftovers that people do not eat. “Cow can get rid of many things that can’t be used as humans and put them in high quality food,” he said.

Like many others in the Netherlands, he suspects the government wants to use the land needed to build a home.

follow