via telegraph:
The Dutch government is considering plans to restrict cattle numbers to two cows per football pitch-sized field, putting them on a collision course with the country’s farmers.
Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, has not yet approved the proposed limit of up to “0.35 hectares of grassland per livestock unit”, which is part of a range of measures designed to help the Netherlands meet European Union climate change targets.
The aim is to reduce the large quantities of polluting methane, produced by manure and fertiliser, in grassland-poor areas, while other fields will be converted to grassland, which is good for biodiversity and water quality.
Farmers are incensed by the plans to limit their livestock numbers, especially in the south of the Netherlands, where about 3.5 cows per football field graze.