Farmers protesting in Netherlands

[anonymous-user]

The latest in a series of 'tractor protests' in Netherlands is today

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/dutch-farme...

There are quite a few of them

https://twitter.com/FreiesDE/status/11843848596592...

[RizzoTheRat]

As a farmers son I'm tempted to cycle in the Hague after work to admire their machinery

My Dutch teacher this morning reckoned they had pretty good public support the first time but they're starting to lose it a bit now. Apparently on the last protest they broke the doors down on a government building somewhere which didn't go down well.

[FourWheelDrift]

What, no one?

"Dutch farmers clog roads across the Netherlands in third protest"

[RizzoTheRat]

Loads of them have driven past the office in the last half hour or so.

I wonder if the Dutch have similar fuel regulations to the UK's red diesel?

[DeltonaS]

RizzoTheRat said:

Loads of them have driven past the office in the last half hour or so.

I wonder if the Dutch have similar fuel regulations to the UK's red diesel?

No, up untill 2013 farmers were allowed to use red diesel, not anymore.

Since than red diesel may only be used:
- in ships, as long as they are not pleasure craft, and
- in a limited number of cases in cranes on ships and pontoons
https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bld...

Party growing up in an agricultural environment, I can remember many farmers somehow drove diesel cars privately as well. I can only wonder why. Commuting certainly wasn't the reason.
(roadtaxes are twice as high in NL for diesel cars compared with petrol and insurance is more expensive as well).

[RizzoTheRat]

Tell me about it, I have a 2 litre diesel car, road tax is something like €1200/year.

So farmers are paying €1.30 or so a litre for fuel? No wonder foods expensive. UK farmers are paying about 60p/litre for red, and that seems high now at around 50% of normal diesel prices, is was about 1/4-1/3 of the price of road diesel when I was working on the farm in the 90's.

[DeltonaS]

RizzoTheRat said:

Tell me about it, I have a 2 litre diesel car, road tax is something like €1200/year.

And than we have the BPM taxes upon purchase on top of the VAT, since a couple of years CO2 related.

Certainly not the best place to live for petrolheads.

RizzoTheRat said:

So farmers are paying €1.30 or so a litre for fuel? No wonder foods expensive. UK farmers are paying about 60p/litre for red, and that seems high now at around 50% of normal diesel prices, is was about 1/4-1/3 of the price of road diesel when I was working on the farm in the 90's.

No less, for instance LTO members can buy diesel from about €1,03 (ex.vat) in bulk.
https://www.ltoledenvoordeel.nl/mobiliteit/diesel/...

(LTO: Dutch Agricultural and Horticultural Association).