Some Dutch immigrant farmers in Denmark heading home

DRACHTEN – Some Dutch immigrant farmers who settled in Denmark over the past two decades are repatriating back to the Netherlands. Social isolation has been identified as a contributing factor but economics seem to be the greater motivator now that the financial advantages of Denmark have evaporated. Danish tax laws allow farmers to relocate elsewhere in the EU without penalties but the drop in farm values in the Netherlands (they have risen in Denmark) have created opportunities that were not there before, namely the possibility of buying a farm of equal value closer to home. Those leaving Denmark likely could buy a far larger farm in what was formerly Eastern Germany where prices are still much lower. In the past, farmers with insufficient capital had a far better chance of starting on their own in Denmark than anywhere else.