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During the summer of 2022, protests erupted in the Netherlands over the government’s plan to curtail nitrogen emissions from the country’s farms—in some cases, by up to 95 percent.
At the time, authorities acknowledged that their proposal would necessitate slashing livestock numbers across the country, especially near areas protected as part of the European Union’s (EU’s) Natura 2000 network. The stated rationale was to limit emissions of ammonia and nitrogenous oxides, thought to be changing the composition of plant life in such zones.
Demonstrating farmers slow down traffic on a motorway near Venlo, southern Netherlands, on July 4, 2022. Dutch farmers angry at government plans to slash emissions used tractors and trucks Monday to blockade supermarket distribution centers, the latest actions in a summer of discontent in the country’s lucrative agricultural sector. (Thibault Camus/AP Photo)
The Dutch government expected a substantial number of farms would have to close, as detailed in a report from the United States Department of Agriculture. In October, farming groups voiced displeasure with the latest plan issued by the government’s mediator, politician Johan Remkes. Some on the farmers’ side pledged to continue protesting....