Young farmers place hundreds of crosses in a field in protest

The seventh manure action plan and the nitrogen agreement weigh heavily on the future of farmers, but politicians are not getting out of it. With the crosses, the young farmers symbolically carry their future to the grave.

Very late in the evening, twenty young farmers from Poperinge placed hundreds of crosses on a field in Proven. It is no coincidence that they choose these grounds for their protest action. This piece of land is now planted with trees. The young people want to remain anonymous, spokesman Boerenhart Vlaanderen explains the action: “We want to make a symbol here that there must first be legal certainty for agriculture before further forest is planted. Boerenhart Vlaanderen calls a halt to the expansion of nature. We are not necessarily sé against that nature. But we do want to symbolize here that there must first be legal certainty for the farmer, before anything else can happen.”

Uncertainty for young farmers

The activists work quickly and thoroughly. With the cross action, the young farmers want to wake up the government. The most recent Manure Action Plan, the seventh already, the nitrogen agreement, the politicians can’t figure it out and that uncertainty weighs on the future of the farmers. All evening the activists hammer it like a delight, until three trailers are filled with crosses. It’s time to take action.