BBB leader will quit if compulsory farm buyouts are brought in

Farmers party leader Caroline van der Plas has said she will quit as an MP if the cabinet presses ahead with compulsory farm buyouts, as hinted at by the Telegraaf on Thursday.

The paper says that farm minister Femke Wiersma is planning drastic cuts in the number of livestock on Dutch farms in an effort to reduce the size of the manure mountain to legal limits. Wiersma is a minister on behalf of the BBB.

One of the options is to remove some or all of the rights to keep animals when a farm is sold to a non-family member. Others include a buy-out scheme for farmers who want to stop and exemptions from Brussels.

Van der Plas said the situation facing the right-wing government is the result of previous cabinet failings and unworkable agreements within the EU. “We are now picking up the pieces,” she told reporters.

The agreement between the four coalition partners includes a pledge not to bring in compulsory buy-outs. “If that happens, then I am out of here,” Van der Plas said. She said she is not in favour cancelling permits if the farm is sold either, but it is the only way to make sure the livestock herd is reduced in the current situation.

The detailed plan is due to be published on Friday.