ANDEREN, Netherlands (AP) — Inside the barn on the flat fields of the northern Netherlands, Jos Ubels cradles a newborn Blonde d’Aquitaine calf, the latest addition to his herd of over 300 dairy cattle.
Little could be more idyllic.
Little, says Ubels, could be more under threat.
As Europe seeks to address the threat of climate change, it’s imposing more rules on farmers like Ubels. He spends a day a week on bureaucracy, answering the demands of European Union and national officials who seek to decide when farmers can sow and reap, and how much fertilizer or manure they can use.
Meanwhile, competition from cheap imports is undercutting prices for their produce, without having to meet the same standards. Mainstream political parties failed to act on farmers’ complaints for decades, Ubels says. Now the radical right is stepping in.
Across much of the 27-nation EU, from Finland to Greece, Poland to Ireland, farmers’ discontent is gathering momentum as June EU parliamentary elections draw near.
Elon Musk gets approval from FDA to implant his Neuralink brain chip into a second patient
Pharmac inks deal with GlaxoSmithKline for new cancer, HIV and COPD drugs
Third person arrested over Palmerston North man's murder
Scientists struggle to protect infant corals from hungry fish
Election 2024: Biden and Trump bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates
Department of Internal Affairs announces cuts, winds up water reform teams
Corrections defends pace of change: 'There is no reluctance'
Wild weather: What to expect this weekend
Jon Wysocki dead at 53: Staind drummer passes away
VOX POPULI: What jobs do children want to take in the future?