Lifting 25 large livestock farms would reduce enough nitrogen to get housing started again. Example: 1 turkey holder produces more nitrogen than is saved by speed reduction throughout the Netherlands.

A small group of several dozen livestock farms on or around protected natural areas causes disproportionate nitrogen on nature. These “peak loaders” are responsible for hundreds of times more nitrogen precipitation than residential and road construction projects in the same region, which are still stationary due to the nitrogen load.

This is evident from calculations by Platform voor investigative journalism Investico for the Groene Amsterdammer, Trouw, de Gelderlander, de Stentor and Tubantia based on an analysis of data from more than nineteen thousand livestock farms. Without closing these agricultural top polluters, it is impossible to get natural areas back to health, experts say. However, Cabinet and provincial authorities do not impose any obligations on these companies and wait until they voluntarily sign up for a purchase scheme.

Handful of agricultural companies keeps the Netherlands locked