Thousands of farmers shut down highways in a go-slow protest converging on the Dutch capital Monday, as they protested being victimised by a government trying to meet European Union emissions laws by cracking down on agriculture.

Protesters driving thousands of tractors and other pieces of farm machinery in enormous convoys heading to the Hague carried banners and signs reminding Dutch lawmakers of the importance of agriculture, including ‘#NoFarmersNoFood’. Hundreds of miles of highways were blocked by an estimated 3,000 tractors Wednesday morning.

The day of protest is the thirds of its kind and follows another at the start of October. At the time, Dutch media reported the protests were against a call by the government that herds of animals reared for food should be culled so the nation could meet its European Union-imposed nitrogen emission targets.

Farmers drove throughout the night to meet in the town of De Bilt, which contains the headquarters of the National Institute of Public Health, which the protesters claim has botched the nitrogen figures the government uses to dictate its environmental policy.

Having protested there, the convoys moved on to the Hague itself, the Dutch political capital.

The Dutch police and army, on the instructions of the centrist-globalist prime minister Mark Rutte, attempted to shut down the main roads leading into the capital Wednesday, but using the off-road capabilities afforded by driving a tractor, the protestors simply drove around the blockades, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports. Rutte called on farmers to “keep the peace” and follow the instructions of police.

In addition to running the roadblocks, in some cases established with army trucks, the farmers have also defied orders to not drive their tractors onto the Malieveld, a large park in the centre of the Hague opposite the main railway station.