A bitter dispute between the Dutch government and roughly 3,000 farmers is escalating as the government moves to close thousands of farms to meet the country's 2030 nitrogen emission targets. .Government leaders said last week they will allocate $25 billion to a buyout plan for the purchase of between 2,000 and 3,000 farms, heightening tension with affected farmers, as reported by the Washington Examiner. .Several posts were circulating on social media platforms since Thursday showing Dutch farmers heading to protest the closing of their farms. . Dutch farmers driving to protest the closing of thousands of farms by the government .One post shows protesting farmers being "hunted down and disbanded by the police and riot squads." ."This is what 'liberal democracy' looks like under prime minister Mark Rutte," tweeted Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek. .The Netherlands government plans to halve nitrogen emissions by 2030, in accordance with the European Union conservation rules, but to achieve this target, it estimates a total of 11,200 farms will need to be closed and an additional 17,600 farms will need to reduce their livestock numbers by up to 30%. .Beginning in June, Dutch farmers protested the government's climate initiative using tractors and trucks to block major roads and supermarket distribution centres..READ MORE: Dutch farmers protest threaten to grind Nederlands to a halt.For most of the summer, some 40,000 farmers voiced their displeasure with their government's policies by blocking roads with tractors and dumping manure and large piles of hay on main roadways. ."Just in: Dutch farmers sent a clear message: 'You want our land? ..EAT THIS!'" read a tweet that included a video montage of the actions of protesting farmers. .The farming industry is critical to the Dutch economy. According to Dutch farming lobby group LTO, there are nearly 54,000 agricultural businesses in the Netherlands with exports totalling 105 billion euros in 2021. The Netherlands is the world's second largest food exporter, behind the US. .Although the Netherlands government is concerned over farming emissions, with a nitrogen balance said to be nearly twice the European average, farmers argue they are being unfairly targeted with other contributing industries being let off the hook.
