Farmers burning hay bales on highways with more nitrogen policy protests expected

Farmers are again protesting against the nitrogen policy on Tuesday morning. On the A12 between The Hague and Utrecht, for example, they set fire to hay bales at Nieuweburg, the ANWB reports. There are traffic jams in both directions.

Rijkswaterstaat reported that one lane is closed in the direction of The Hague. Road users can expect a delay of about 40 minutes. One lane is also closed in the other direction, also with a delay of about 40 minutes.

There are also fires on highways in other parts of the country, including on the A2 at Beesd, the A7 at Wijdewormer, and the A15 at Andelst. At 8:30 a.m., the ANWB reported 83 traffic jams covering 418 kilometers of Dutch roads, including some caused by the farmers' protests.

The farmers also plan to go to The Hague on Tuesday afternoon to protest at the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. That will happen from noon, according to a statement distributed by Farmers Defense Force spokesperson Sieta van Keimpema. On Tuesday, the Kamer will vote on motions submitted during the parliamentary debate on the nitrogen policy last week.

"On June 28, we will give a face to halving the livestock. Make it clear which choices farmers are faced with due to the sickening policy of this Cabinet," said the statement signed by "Farmers of the Netherlands."

The farmers are angry about the government's nitrogen plans. The Cabinet wants to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture by an average of 40 percent so that nature is no longer overtaxed. The plans allow for almost no emissions in protected nature areas themselves, where a reduction of 70 percent is needed almost immediately, according to the Minister. Only then will it be possible to reduce the nitrogen load on nature sufficiently.

On Monday, farmers protested on highways in various parts of the country. Farmers in Lochem and Raalte went to the town hall. Tractors appeared at the Media Park in Hilversum. And a group of farmers again showed up at the home of Minister Christianne van der Wal for Nature and Nitrogen.

Farmers' interest association LTO Nederland denounced the demonstration at the Minster's home. "LTO is not involved in the actions. They show how hard the Cabinet plans hit. Farmers are confronted with unachievable goals with no future prospects. The situation creates a feeling of 'end of the exercise.' Calls from concerned members overload our administrators and member contact centers. Emotions are running high. We call on everyone to express this appropriately and with dignity and to maintain support in society. That also means, as we said before: not at politicians’ homes,” LTO Nederland said in a statement.

According to newspaper AD, angry farmers also sawed down old willow trees in Krimpenerwaard on Monday afternoon. They cut down about a hundred trees on Benedenberg in Bergambacht, a cattle farmer and activist Floor de Jong said.

De Jong called cutting down the old trees a statement and the ultimate means of action. “The pollard willows have been sawn off just below the poll, a sign of the government’s felling policy. The trees are now doomed. They will not survive this,” De Jong said to the newspaper.