Empty meadows today throughout Drenthe. This is also the case in Pesse with farmer Arend Steenbergen. The farmers are campaigning under the heading ‘May 30th cow out of the meadow’; a playful action to protest against a court ruling on nitrogen. The farmers are afraid that they will soon need a permit to let their cows graze in the meadow.
The ‘ladies’ of farmer Arend Steenbergen don’t understand it: they stand outside the gate, but where the gate is normally open, so that they can walk in and out, it now remains closed. Yet it is quiet in the stable and the animals do not grumble. “No, they are fine in the barn. At night and in winter they are of course also indoors, so that is well arranged. But the whole society says: ‘a cow belongs in the meadow’, and that Of course he also hears it,” says Steenbergen.
He would have preferred to just take his cows outside today, but wants to make a point. As a result of various lawsuits, the cow is no longer allowed to go out to pasture without an extra permit. That’s because they emit nitrogen. But according to the farmers, outdoor cows actually produce fewer emissions, because faeces and urine are then separated from each other. “When creating nature reserves, it was also said that it is normal practice to graze cows. It is part of the Netherlands and our way of farming, which is permit-free. The Remkes Committee (which conducted research into tackling nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands in the long term term, ed.) has also said that, so it must now be arranged,” says Steenbergen, who is also chairman of LTO Noord in addition to being a farmer.