Activists take dairy cows to town for different reasons

DEN BOSCH / THE HAGUE – Hundreds of thousands of city dwellers lament the loss of small-scale agriculture, which to them includes images of cows grazing in the country’s green pastures. Cost conscious farmers have ‘modernized’ their farming methods by keeping their animals inside or around the barns rather than letting them out into the fields. Activists now are putting some farm animals on display in city squares so the public can connect with a few cows, chickens and piglets and so experience the sights and sounds of an otherwise remote farm life. The display in the Brabant cities of Den Bosch, Tilburg, Roosendaal and Tilburg attracted a steady stream of onlookers. At The Hague, people witnessed protesting farmers lining up rows of dairy cows in a show of displeasure over the government’s decision to float the price of milk, which has since dropped below the cost of production. Agriculture minister Gerda Verburg dropped by to have a look but declined to reverse her (EU) policy.