Agricultural Case Studies in Developed Countries: Netherlands and USA
Senior 3 · Geography
Agricultural Case Studies in Developed Countries: Netherlands and USA
Lesson 3 of 5
30 min
Let's begin
On 1 October 2019 thousands of farmers drove their tractors into The Hague. They were protesting against plans to cut nitrogen pollution from livestock, which threatened to shrink their herds. The same polders that make the Netherlands a farming giant face hard questions: how long can land below sea level stay dry as the sea rises, and how much manure and fertiliser can a small, crowded country absorb? To answer them, we first need to know why Dutch polder farming succeeds.
Definition
Land subsidence: the gradual sinking of the land surface. Salinisation: the build-up of salt in soil or water. Nitrogen deposition: nitrogen compounds, mainly ammonia from manure and nitrogen oxides from traffic and industry, falling from the air onto land and water, where they over-fertilise natural vegetation.
| Physical factors | Human factors |
|---|---|
| Fertile marine clay soils on the new polders, rich in minerals and easy to work once drained | Advanced technology: drainage, pumps, glasshouses, robots and precision machinery |
| Flat land, ideal for machines, large regular fields and irrigation | Capital from farmers, banks, the government and the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy |
| Cool, wet maritime climate with rain in every month, ideal for grass, potatoes and vegetables | Research and training, especially Wageningen University & Research, linked closely to farmers |
| Plenty of water from rivers, lakes and ditches for irrigation and livestock | Cooperatives and auctions that process and market produce |
| Long summer days at this latitude for plant growth | A huge, rich market nearby: the cities of the Randstad and the European Union |
| Excellent transport: the port of Rotterdam, Schiphol airport, motorways and waterways | |
| Planning: polders were laid out with regular fields, farms, roads and villages; scattered plots on older land were consolidated | |
| Skilled, educated farmers and political stability |
| Challenge | Solution |
|---|---|
| Flood risk and sea-level rise as the climate warms | Raise and strengthen dykes; storm-surge barriers; the Delta Programme; "Room for the River" projects that give rivers space to flood safely |
| Land subsidence on drained peat (Figure 1) | Keep ditch water higher in peat areas; underwater drains; convert some land to wet farming or nature |
| Salinisation from salty seepage water and sea water entering rivers in droughts | Flush ditches with fresh water; store fresh water; salt-tolerant crops |
| Nitrogen pollution from livestock manure and fertilisers, harming nature areas | Limits on manure and livestock numbers, low-emission barns, buy-out schemes for farms near nature reserves |
| Water pollution and eutrophication of lakes and ditches | Rules on fertiliser and pesticide use; buffer strips beside ditches; precision farming |
| High costs of land and energy, especially for heated glasshouses | Geothermal heat, heat storage, LED lighting and renewable energy |
| Shortage of space as cities and roads grow | Careful land-use planning; more output per hectare |
| Shortage of farm labour | Robots and automation; seasonal workers from other EU countries |
| Animal and plant diseases, such as bird flu | Vaccination, hygiene rules, quarantine and culling |
Worked example
Worked example 1: how far has the land sunk? A peat polder sinks by about 8 mm a year. How much lower will it be after 50 years? (Illustrative rate.)
8 mm × 50 = 400 mm = 0.4 m. Over a century that is 0.8 m, enough to need stronger pumps, and the sinking releases CO₂ as the peat oxidises.
Worked example
Worked example 2: cause and effect. Explain the chain that links dairy farming to damaged heathland.
Cows produce manure → ammonia escapes from manure into the air → it falls as nitrogen deposition on nearby nature areas → grasses and nettles that like nitrogen grow fast and crowd out heather and rare plants. Breaking the chain at any point (less manure, low-emission barns, distance from nature) reduces the damage.
Warning
Do not write that the Netherlands succeeds "because it has good soils". Physical factors help, but the decisive factors are human: capital, research, cooperatives, markets and transport. Examiners reward answers that weigh both.
Mongabay: the Netherlands weighs up its future amid farmer protests and dying ecosystems. As you watch, note one argument from the farmers and one from those who want to protect nature.
Practice
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
