Farmers in North Holland prefer to belong to Friesland

North Holland farmers are protesting this week by indicating that they prefer to belong to the province of Friesland. According to the farmers, the provincial government in Haarlem does not understand what is happening in the countryside of North Holland and it is better understood in Friesland.

The North Holland farmers are therefore going to symbolically join Friesland. They do this, among other things, by hanging Frisian flags at strategic locations in North Holland. Frisian and North Holland farmers will also gather on the Afsluitdijk on Friday 25 October. However, they do not want to cause a nuisance.

"There Frisian flags are handed over to North Holland farmers. The Frisian farmers show that the North Holland farmers are welcome. The reason for the protest is that the entire agricultural sector is under pressure due to regulatory pressure from the Randstad," according to the newspaper. Rob Smit, arable farmer in the Wieringerwerf and co-organizer of the action.

Geese bigger problem than cows
"The straw that broke the camel's back is the whole nitrogen thing. In North Holland, the province has not removed provincial policy from the table, and in Friesland it has. But it is not about nitrogen at all: with us you have so many geese that they have a cause a bigger nitrogen problem than the cows," says Smit. "The interference from urban areas is getting worse and that has to stop."

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

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