“The government must acknowledge farmers’ grief,” says researcher studying ecological mourning

When tractors filled The Hague’s Malieveld in October 2019, Marjolein van Woerkom went there with her daughter. She knew many farmers and agricultural contractors from more than 20 years as a trade-journal reporter, but the scale of the protest made her ask where the frustration, grief and anger came from.

That question became her research subject. After completing a master’s degree in anthropology, Van Woerkom became the first person in the Netherlands seeking a doctorate focused on what she calls “ecological grief” among farmers who lose their businesses or land, or see them radically changed.

The subject remains politically charged. Protests have continued to flare, sometimes becoming threatening. Several years ago, farmers went to the home of Christianne van der Wal, then a minister from the VVD party, carrying torches. Farmers have begun protesting again against the cabinet’s new nitrogen plans. They fear losing their businesses, and a recent assessment by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency concluded that some of those fears are justified. Livestock numbers will almost certainly have to shrink, and some farms in livestock-heavy regions may not be able to continue.

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When you experience that day in and day out, you understand much better how deeply being a farmer is an identity.

Van Woerkom says the 2019 protest surprised her because farmers’ problems had often remained unspoken. During her master’s research, she joined farmers in an eastern Dutch community, starting in the milking parlour at 6 a.m., feeding animals, working the land and helping children with homework. “When you experience that day in and day out, you understand much better how deeply being a farmer is an identity,” she says.

Private life and work are closely intertwined. A baby monitor may sit beside the milking machine, and many farms have remained in the same family for generations. Passing the farm on is often seen as a farmer’s most important task. When that future is threatened, the emotion can become aggression. In the best cases, Van Woerkom says, it motivates farmers to make their businesses fit for the future. One farmer who had been bought out asked her who he still was without his land.

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Who am I without my land?