Earlier, in The Hague, a few dozen farmers and their supporters, some wearing T-shirts with the text "No farmers, no food," gathered for a breakfast before heading to the protest.
"This is where the rules are made," said dairy farmer Jaap Zegwaard, who parked his tractor on the edge of a park in the city. "I was asked to come here and provide breakfast so we can show we are food producers, not pollution producers."
The ruling coalition has earmarked an extra 24.3 billion euros ($25.6 billion) to finance changes that will likely make many farmers drastically reduce their number of livestock or to get rid of them altogether.
The plans, which have to be carried out by provincial governments, have been opposed even by members of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's own party and other members of his coalition. Provincial governments have been given a year to formulate plans to meet the reduction targets.
One government lawmaker, Tjeerd de Groot, tweeted that he had planned to attend to discuss the plan with farmers but called off his trip on the advise of a government security agency.
"Does the law of the tractor apply in our country?" he tweeted.
Farming is a key sector in the Dutch economy, with exports worth nearly 105 billion euros last year. But it comes at a cost of producing of polluting gases, despite farmers taking steps to reduce emissions.
Zegwaard said farmers were prepared to talk about how to reduce emissions, but objected to the industry shouldering most of the blame.
"Now the agricultural sector is dismissed as a major polluter and that is not right," he said.
