In the Netherlands, a farmers party taps into widespread discontent with government

Farmer Wilbert van der Post is worried that the Dutch government's new nitrogen reduction rules will force him, a fourth-generation farmer, out of business. He plans to vote for the Farmer-Citizens Movement, known in the Netherlands by its acronym, BBB, on election day in November. (Rob Schmitz/NPR)

LEIDEN, The Netherlands — On a strip of land amongst the canals that crisscross the flat Dutch countryside stand 50 black-and-white Holstein cows, heads down, chewing on a lunch of hay served to them by their owner, farmer Wilbert van der Post.

"I'm the fourth generation on this farm," says van der Post as he spreads the hay along the floor of the barn. "My great-grandfather came here around 1900."