Dozens of tractors blocked the A7 near Drachten on Friday. With a fire on the roadside, beer and even a caravan, the activists prepared for a long evening.
The tractor protest started quietly on Friday evening at 8 p.m. App groups called for people to gather at various locations along the A7 for a demonstration. What exactly the intention was remained unknown for a long time, but the taped license plates showed that action on the highway could not be ruled out.
A large group stayed out in Heerenveen. Of the four tractors, only Wietse de Jager’s came from Friesland. “We have to make ourselves heard,” says the farmer from Langezwaag. “The pressure on farmers is great, but this also concerns the consumer. Prices are getting higher, so we are also taking action for citizens.”
Trade agreements
His three colleagues came from the other side of De Lende. “We have to strike while the iron is hot,” says Frank Poelsma, referring to the demonstrations in other European countries. The hobby sheep farmer from Oldeholtpade is mainly concerned about the trade agreements of the European Union. “We receive cheaper stuff here that does not meet the standards for our own farmers. That doesn’t make any progress, it creates an unfair playing field.”
The men had no idea what the action would look like exactly and how long it would last. In Drachten it became much more concrete after 9 p.m. “We are going to block the A7,” Eke van der Woude calls from the cab of a tractor with a manure tank behind it. From the exit of the N31, traffic from the direction of Groningen was blocked until the Drachten-West exit.
The manure tank was dragged all the way from Rinsumageast without any ulterior motives, according to her colleague Karst Elsinga. “He was nicely coupled behind it, so we took him with us.” The two have taken part in protests before, but Brussels, which was called for earlier this week, is just too far for them. “We can’t stay away from the farm for that long.”
Brussels is too far
The two are farm workers, as are many of the protesters. Contractor Johannes de Haan from Oudega is also reluctant to take a trip to Brussels. “I don’t think this one can hold up,” he says, slapping his hand on the hood of the tractor. He wanted to take action. “You can complain at the kitchen table, but that doesn’t help anything.”
He lists a number of rules that apply to farms from the European Union, such as taking into account buffer strips along ditches that may not be fertilized. “Why can’t we just decide how we grow our own land?”
He also has no idea what the action will look like. Mark Wiersma is certainly prepared, as he himself says, and took a large caravan behind the tractor. “We also stand up for citizens who now pay higher prices in the store,” says the contractor.
Cans of beer
He hopes that this action will ultimately put the entire Green Deal off the table in Brussels and further refers to the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the corona pandemic. “We do this for everyone.”
Meanwhile, young people from the other side of the roadside arrive with dozens of cans of beer and further down the road a hay bale is set on fire. It can be quite a long evening on the highway. “If we have to, we will stay here for a while,” says De Haan. “I don’t have to go to work tomorrow anyway.”
There were also protests in other places. For example, the A7 was closed in both directions near Hoorn. Mark van den Oever of Farmers Defense Force announced on Friday that ‘wild actions’ will continue until Tuesday.