NETHERLANDS-AGRICULTURE-LIVESTOCK

A farmer clears manure from the cowshed at the farm of Jos Verstraten in Westerbeek, on October 17, 2024, where Dutch farmers are facing a crisis in an upsurge in surplus manure. Dutch farmers are facing a crisis in an upsurge in surplus manure, following the phasing out of a derogation from the EU's Nitrates Directive, which allowed the farmers to exceed the directive's limits on slurry spreading on the farms. The directive aims to limit excess nutrient pollution of the water course often caused by runoff from fields that have been fertilized with manure. Leaving farmers such as Jos Verstraten with the problem of how to dispose of the expected byproduct that their animals produce. (Photo by Nick Gammon / AFP) (Photo by NICK GAMMON/AFP via Getty Images)