Former chairman of LTO Akkerbouw, Jaap Haanstra, is fed up. “Farmers are blamed for everything,” he notes. This while they produce cleaner and safer than ever. An example is when it became known that the insect population is also declining sharply in the Netherlands. That is why he sends a letter to Boerenbusiness.
I am done. We are getting one reproach after another right now. And by that I mean all sectors. However, because I am an arable farmer, this affects me most directly. Apparently we are now killing all insects again, another time it will be meadow birds or we will use cancer-causing glyphosate. Whatever happens the agricultural sector will have it on its plate. Incidentally, these are usually very vague or indirect, sometimes even wrongly sought, conclusions.
Swallows full of poison
For example, it was recently announced that the swallows would now be full of poison. One should first look at which substances they are, and only then look at the areas where they hibernate. The substances found in the birds have not been used in Europe for decades.
Recently I was at the vet with my dog. There was a leaf there, I think it was called 'The Animals'. It contained an article with the headline 'Place of crime: the field'. The headline alone says it all. As farmers, we don't need any respect or petting ourselves, but I do ask for appreciation for what we do. Just like everyone else in this country. But I'm more than tired of the way we're being put down now.
Small group
There is a small group in society that tries to blacken us. That has to stop, otherwise I don't know where to go with my anger. We produce cleaner and safer than ever. Society gets food at a price that is so low that there is a lot of money left over to do nice things.
We are all trying to become even cleaner and more refined and are making every effort to have no residue on our products by 2030. There is an eye for what nature gives us and what we would like to preserve. We honor life.
undeserved
We don't deserve what is happening now and being blamed on us. I'm writing this now and I may regret it later. But what is happening now excites every fiber in my body and I cannot let it pass. I therefore call on everyone to take action. Each in his own way. Organizations, cooperatives, political parties and customers. In short: the entire agricultural sector.
Trots
We produce food. We do this safely, aware of the social discussions and the demands of consumers and citizens. We'll do that today, we'll do that tomorrow and we'll still be doing it 10 years from now. We bring our products to every family's table at least 6 times a day. I'm proud of that.
I am convinced that citizens and consumers appreciate us, but must stop the smear campaign by a certain group in society. We must and may be proud of what we do and that also applies to future generations. And let it be the case that they also want to choose the farming profession.
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This is a response to this article:
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A very nice letter, but make sure that this is published in the national newspapers.This is a response to this article:
It's unbelievable how the sector has been cornered. And where is LTO.......... They just make it happen.
If there is fraud they are right on a television program to say that farmers are criminals and that they expel them. While you don't hear them when the farmer is put in the corner with untruths.
Then an old foreman has to stand up to stop this. Sad deeply sad.
For whom is the lto actually an advocate
Nice story, very good. We should hear these kinds of voices more often, indeed, preferably in front of the national newspapers. All the points above are completely correct and correct. Only problem we have is that we don't have time to lobby or organize. We perish in work, earn nothing, but carry on out of a sense of duty, passion and conviction. That is hard to find for many people these days. That is precisely why we have little time to meet, sit together or form a fist. This applies to advocacy and also to marketing. And that's being used against us. Indeed, industries, politics and public interest are vast majorities, which no one can resist. Farming does not. The only way to make a fist would be to REALLY jointly allow food production to stagnate. Stop taking for granted that a "fresh" truck comes to be supplied at retail three times a day. Just leave the shelves empty for three days. Food is still a basic need. That thought is completely gone. Food is seen as a low-budget necessity, which is available anytime, anywhere and on which you spend little. But entertainment, leisure, entertainment and enjoyment, are spent on that. Indeed, the post-war generation has pushed the basic needs into the background, because we no longer have scarcity. The only way to get through to the people is to create that scarcity. Just let them bite the bullet. If there is little choice or even little to eat, let's see if we can make a living from nature reserves, recreation and greening. That's going to be a nice meal. In the Netherlands we have become a bunch of lazy managers and civil servants who earn money from behind a desk. This is possible because our prosperity and luxury have made basic facilities a matter of course. So we need to make that a little less obvious. But that is not easy, because globalization and international trade will mean that you will have to pull one front across the sector. To start with, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. You can't rely on agreements from Eastern European countries, moreover, they run entirely on subsidies from Brussels. It is therefore more effective to stop these subsidies than to ask for their cooperation. If we can then combine the agricultural sector in Western Europe, you will be very strong within 2 weeks. But then no one is allowed to screw up. Because if 8 out of 10 decide not to supply agricultural products below a certain price, but the 9th and 10th see their chance to supply something BELOW that price, then it will not work. So you will have to organize that well and block or punish the under-crowders. That's not easy. Go for it. That takes guts, time and perseverance. Someone has to step forward and take this on. And not make the market work AGAINST us by creeping up the consumer's ass at any price, but let the market work FOR us by creating scarcity. Since our society is governed by money, the chances of success are high.
"Why get annoyed at someone else when you're happy?"
Staying satisfied, while eg.
others, colleagues, crushing your prize by overproduction stoked by the industry,
or give your sector a bad name with your customers through illegal practices,
or, by your customer or your politicians, unjustified rules are introduced that put you at a cost without the chance of better prices,
whether your customer treats your product badly, at the expense of the product and your price.
I'll just name a few, but apparently that doesn't matter to some, so they remain satisfied.
@Commuter; those ditches are not there for a small shower, but for the downpours in a short time. Whether or not you plow, no 1 plot can compete. And on many grounds, plowing remains a good tillage.