The number of Dutch farmers thinking about emigrating continues to increase. Bernhard Krüsken from the German Farmers’ Association cannot say how many Dutch farmers have recently come to Germany. “We don’t have any figures on this,” Krüsken told Gelderlander. But there is also great dissatisfaction with politics among German farmers, says Krüsken.
“As far as we know, the rules in Germany are no less strict than in the Netherlands. All farmers in the European Union must comply with the European Nitrates Directive.” In his opinion, an important difference with the Netherlands is that resettlement and expansion in agricultural areas is possible under certain conditions.
The country has no production rights and in many places there is more space. However, there are strict manure regulations, which have meant that the rules for storage and application have been tightened in recent years. The construction costs are not much lower than in the Netherlands.
That’s true, says migration expert Richard Roddenhof. “The European guidelines are there, but how they are handled and what needs to be done to achieve them varies from country to country.”
And only the Netherlands has phosphate rights. This, along with high land prices and all the other hindering factors, could be the reason to cross the border.”