Dutch farmers' protests

Dutch farmers' protests
Dutch farmers' protests
Part of the nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands
	A farmer protesting in The Hague, 1 October 2019
Date	1 October 2019 – ongoing; (4 years, 6 months and 2 weeks)
Location	Netherlands, local demonstrations in Belgium, Germany, and Canada
Caused by	Proposals and legislation to limit human impact on the nitrogen cycle by down-scaling industrial livestock production and reducing levels of crude protein in fodder; Animal rights activists' occupation of a pig farm in Boxtel, North Brabant, and the growing influence of the Dutch environmental movement; Perceived public disrespect towards agribusiness;
Goals	Fewer or no nitrogen-related restrictions on livestock farming; Higher prices for agricultural produce; Public respect for the agricultural sector;
Methods	Arson; Barricades; Demonstrations; Flag desecration; Illegal dumping; Internet activism; Intimidation of elected officials, businesses, and activists; Occupations;
Parties
Agricultural interest groups and individuals; Agractie; Farmers Defence Force; Team Agro NL; Voll Gass; ; Anti-government and COVID-19 protesters; Nederland in Verzet; Samen voor Nederland; ;	Third Rutte cabinet Minister of Agriculture Carola Schouten; ; Fourth Rutte cabinet Minister of Agriculture Henk Staghouwer (2022); Minister of Agriculture Piet Adema; Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy Christianne van der Wal; ; Netherlands Armed Forces; Royal Netherlands Army; Royal Marechaussee; ; National Police Corps; Animal rights and environmental activist groups and individuals;
Casualties
Injuries	At least 6
Arrested	Over 100

The Dutch farmers' protests (Dutch: boerenprotesten) are a series of demonstrations by Dutch livestock farmers, characterised by the use of tractors to block roads, and occupy public spaces. The protests were initially triggered in October 2019 by a proposal in parliament to halve the country's livestock in an attempt to limit agricultural pollution in the Netherlands, but protesting farmers have frequently told media that they are motivated by a perceived lack of respect for their profession by the Dutch populace, media and politicians. The protests combined several action groups and an amalgamation of larger goals, which included less government regulation for farmers, more air time for pro-farmer sentiments, and more policy to punish Shell and Tata Steel for their part in the emission crisis.

Public understanding for the farmers has remained high for the duration of the conflict, but actual support began to waver by the end of 2019. By July 2020, 55% of people responding to a survey polled by EenVandaag did not support further protests, but just over half of the respondents did remain sympathetic to the farmers. Public understanding continued to be high through the summer of 2022, while public support for the protests was polled as low as 39% by I&O Research; particularly low support was found among people living in urban areas.

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