Major Cheese Heist Puts Dutch Dairy Farmers on Alert

The Netherlands, residence to 1.6 million cows (and over 17 million individuals), is a serious producer of dairy, of which about two-thirds is exported, in accordance with the Dutch Dairy Affiliation. In 2020, the Netherlands exported 7.5 billion euros (about $8.1 billion) value of dairy merchandise.

Mr. Dekker stated he had warned the 290 members of the curiosity group he results in be additional vigilant, to put in cameras and to double test their locks earlier than going to mattress. In complete, the Netherlands, a serious producer of cheese and different dairy merchandise, counts 500 farms that make cheese and different merchandise from the animals that they personal, he stated.

When the Netherlands noticed comparable robberies some years in the past, Mr. Dekker stated that he had seen safety footage of the thefts and that he had been shocked by the pace and the pressure utilized by the thieves. On the time, the Dutch newspaper NRC estimated that in 2015, near 19,000 kilos of cheese had been stolen.

Nonetheless, it is a particular case, Mireille Aalders, a police spokeswoman, stated. “I do know that some time in the past, batches of cheese had been stolen across the nation, however this isn’t the sort of incident that occurs weekly or month-to-month,” she stated. “It’s fairly distinctive.”

The issue isn’t restricted to the Netherlands. Italy’s treasured Parmesan cheese is a frequent goal, together with a daring nighttime heist of 25,000 kilos in 2018.

Wisconsin has its personal points with what one cheese vendor dubbed “cheese pirates.” In 2016, somebody made off with greater than 20,000 kilos of cheese, valued at greater than $46,000, when an unmarked trailer was stolen from a car parking zone in Oak Creek.

An enormous theft just like the one at Ms. van Dorp’s farm isn’t simply unlucky from a financial standpoint, Mr. Dekker stated. For most of the farmers, who make cheese from milk from their very own cattle and infrequently reside on the identical property, it feels private.