I am the Clog The Clog is a farmer. A really nice farmer. But with a farmer s accent. Produced by This story is part of the European Story Suitcase.
So! Good morning or good afternoon, what is it? I need to go and milk the cows again, so... Sorry if I smell a bit. I have tried to rinse off as much as possible, but I can t get the mud off. The name is Clog. From to pop your clogs or clever clogs. These expressions both come from me. I am one of two clogs belonging to my boss, the farmer. My colleague couldn t join me here, it hadn t rinsed itself off yet. Agriculture. Do you know what that is? No, it s not bringing culture to the countryside. That s what all those fools from the city think. They have never seen a blade of grass up close. They think that milk comes from a factory. They think that meat is born as a hamburger or steak. They think that peas grow in a pot. But we know better. I am an experienced clog. I ve been plodding along for a long time. I was already a clog when my boss grandpa was still a farmer, so I go back generations and generations. It was wartime. I can still picture the people arriving from the city on their bicycles, with sheets and other stuff... to buy some potatoes from us or some tubers or some cauliflower. Nineteen Forty-Four, winter. The Dutch famine. There was a war going on. And that war plus a winter on top; there was no food left in the city. Page 1
After the war, the people including my then boss said: Never again. If a country is civilised, then it must ensure that the people are at least able to eat a decent meal. And if we can t manage that as a country, then we need to organise it in the European Union. This was therefore agreed to in the EU. Basically that we would produce enough food in the EU that was not too expensive and yet made enough money. My boss, other bosses and other farmers would be able to live off this. I remember that. I ve seen it. Page 2 Look, the point is... If you are going to do everything here by hand, then you lose so much time and it takes so much manpower and so much money... That you can t produce anything cheaply. I m sure you understand that, too. All these people need to eat and live and they have to pay for that with work. So, along came machines, which relieve the farmer of a lot of work. Oh, you re bound to have seen them. Combine harvesters. Milking machines. Machines for making hay bales. And then, too, you have to agree on regulations with each other again. Because you can automate everything... But the farmer can t mess with nature. You are working with animals. You are working with green spaces. With wheat. You can milk the cows automatically... And I tell you: this is done in a wonderful manner, right.
The machine knows where the udders are and adapts to every cow. But even then you have to have rules so that you can continue to treat these cows in a humane manner even if it is machines that are doing the work now, not people. The EU has invested money in these machines. The EU has invested a lot of money and energy in agriculture. Because everyone knows that food must remain cheap. Because everyone knows that if food is cheap, then the whole population can get enough food. After the war the people wanted to be sure that there was enough food for everyone. But now that there is enough food, the EU is focussing with the farmers on the quality of the food, on nature and on making sure that the animals are looked after. Because everyone knows that we need these farmers and they also have to earn money. Page 3 Subsidies came along for all sorts of things to help these farmers. And not just that farmer in the Netherlands, but also in other countries. Because if a farmer gets a subsidy in France, then a farmer in the Netherlands must also get one. Otherwise this is unfair competition... And then there is no point to that whole EU thing. But you never think about this. And rightly so. I never think about you at school when I am walking through the mud. When I smell the odour of the cows, I don t think about a school in the city. So, it s the same the other way around. But when we see each other, we can talk about it. You see... I understand these EU regulations. For example, here, on the farm. We have an awful lot of cows.
And to put it plainly: these cows do not just provide milk. They also supply something else... Dung. I am very familiar with that, as a farmer s clog I often stand in it. No problem. But an awful lot of cows means an awful lot of dung. Well, of course, cow dung can be used as fertiliser. Excellent, you might say. Not entirely. Because you can end up with so much manure, more than you can use on your own land. You have a surplus. And manure spreads harmful gases in the natural environment. And then this manure suddenly becomes environmental pollution. Too much manure is very bad for the environment. So, you have to do something with it. You have to store it. You have to process it. And then there are more regulations. It has been a real problem for my boss. He had to build a particular silo and this also had to have a particular vent... And all that costs money again. That s how things go. He did it all, my boss. Because he knows that it needs to be done. He has heard his grandfather s stories. About the war and about the hunger. And about never again. But sometimes a farmer finds things a bit of a struggle. We go through a lot of energy here. Yes, with all those machines. A milking machine like this. When you ve got to milk hundreds of cows... You can t do that with the electricity of a desk lamp at home, you know. And all this costs money. Page 4
And it s so bad for the environment. He built a wind turbine. This supplies enough electricity for what we need here. We are living off the wind. How great is that? And what we have left over because it can get really windy here that goes to the power station... They then sell it on to other people. In the past we had much more land than we have now. We don t need as much land. This is due to the machines. And this is due to the scientists who developed artificial fertiliser and pesticides. We can get by with less land. So, we kept a piece of land spare. The farmer had to do something with it. We turned it into a nature reserve. You re thinking: a farm is a nature reserve anyway. That is true, but on the field you obviously decide what you are going to plant there. We have a mixed farming operation here, with large fields and also dairy cattle. But now there is also a piece of land where nature itself decides what to do. We simply let it grow. This is also regulated with a subsidy from the EU because a farmer can t pay for all of this himself. It is lovely there. We even have a small campsite near there. People come there with their tents and enjoy nature. And occasionally they come here for fresh milk it is much tastier than from a factory or for other products that we have here. And often the farmer puts me on, me and my colleague. And then he shows the campers around the farm. Then he tells them about his grandfather and the war. And about Europe and the subsidies for the machines. Page 5
And about how the farm has changed. How it has become nicer and better... And also about how there are things that have disappeared and it is a shame that they are no longer there. I think these are the nicest times of the year. I love working. I love clearing dung and milking and marshy ground and everything that the farmer, my boss, has to do here. But I also love the stories. Stories exist to hear about what you don t see every day. You, for example, perhaps you yourself come from a farm, so you already know what I m telling you. But perhaps you come from the city, so you are hearing things that are making you think: I didn t know that... Or I d like to know more about that. And don t forget that I for my part don t know your stories of the city. And I might like to hear them. That, to me, is Europe. You go to France or to Spain. Or to Poland or the Czech Republic. And you hear the stories there about how things are there. Just like you can tell stories about how things are here. That is why I am proud to be the farmer s clog. Because of the stories about the farmer who does his best to produce enough safe food for all of us, making sure the animals are healthy and looking after beautiful nature in the countryside. And how important the EU has been in that! I believe there is more work to do. We ll talk again sometime. Would that be a good idea? I think so! See you then! Page 6
THE CLOG The clog explained why we needed to produce so much food after the war. Farming machines have made work at the farm easier. The growth of numerous farms meant that more rules were needed. For instance for manure, which is harmful for the environment. Now answer the following questions: 1. What kind of farmer owns clog? a pig farmer a poultry farmer a dairy farmer 2. When was the Dutch famine? 1945 1944 1943 3. What was agreed in the European Union after the Dutch famine? that food must come from countries outside Europe that everyone in Europe must have access to sufficient and affordable food that farmers must be given more land 4. What did farmers have to do in order to produce sufficient and affordable food? they had to work longer hours they had to use machines they had to work more land 6. What did the farmer in clogs do to keep energy costs down? dismissed his staff kept fewer cows bought a windmill. Now that there is enough food, the EU and farmers are also concerned about...? increasing food production the quality of food, nature and animal care protecting nature and using more artificial fertilisers. Why have the EU Member States agreed on rules to prevent air and water pollution from surplus manure? it is cheaper air and water pollution crosses national borders the European Union can then tackle the pollution by itself 5. How did farmers get help to buy machines after the Second World War? they were all rich enough and did not need help they were given subsidies by the European Union they were given machines free of charge WORKSHEET
THE CLOG, questions and answers 1. What kind of farmer owns clog? a pig farmer a poultry farmer RRa dairy farmer 2. When was the Dutch famine? 1945 RR1944 1943 3. What was agreed in the European Union after the Dutch famine? that food must come from countries outside Europe RRthat everyone in Europe must have access to sufficient and affordable food that farmers must be given more land 4. What did farmers have to do in order to produce sufficient and affordable food? they had to work longer hours RRthey had to use machines they had to work more land 6. What did the farmer in clogs do to keep energy costs down? dismissed his staff kept fewer cows RRbought a windmill. Now that there is enough food, the EU and farmers are also concerned about...? increasing food production RRthe quality of food, nature and animal care protecting nature and using more artificial fertilisers. Why have the EU Member States agreed on rules to prevent air and water pollution from surplus manure? it is cheaper RRair and water pollution crosses national borders the European Union can then tackle the pollution by itself 5. How did farmers get help to buy machines after the Second World War? they were all rich enough and did not need help RRthey were given subsidies by the European Union they were given machines free of charge WORKSHEET