1. Originally, the authorities and cops were expecting around 1,000 total tractors, and maybe 2,000 farmers. By noon, if you counted the tractors still waiting to enter the city, and those on Mainzer Strasse (it was shut down except for buses)....it was closer to 2,000 total farm vehicles, and maybe upwards to 4,000 farmers.
2. The use of Mainzer Strasse? The authorities, in granting the protest 'right', said that they had to limit their 'action' to the Mainzer Strasse area. From the red-light to the end....it's about 2 miles. Part of it is 3-lanes.....part of it is 2-lanes. It simply wasn't enough, and the overflow affected a significant amount of streets leading to Mainzer Strasse. The cops were frustrated with the overflow, and there was little you could do to alleviate it.
3. Chief protest item? Well....it's a combination of EU and German regulations....some are signed off and will be occurring....some are in a discussion stage. Part of this problem revolves around fertilizer and herbicide/pesticide. If you go and look at the farmer 'protocol' and business-plan....by regulating these items out.....farmers will not be able to produce at the 100-percent level. Unless you inflate the prices of items at the grocery store and artificially pay German farmers an upgraded price.....foreign or non-German farmers will be the ones who profit.
The nitrate/phosphate discussion? Part of this revolves around the idea of nitrate getting into ground water. If you eliminate use of nitrates, what's the alternate method here? So far, there's not a lot on the table to make the farmers happy.
4. Chief political blame? Mostly the SPD Party and Greens. Environmentalists are the center-point of the blame. However, if you look at the business plan used by farmers for well over fifty years....it's always been part of the success story for German farm production. If you eliminate it.....then production decreases, and the business plan has major issues.
6. At some point, there was a 'life-vehicle' in the protest, and several farmers wanted him to lift them above the scene to take pictures. The cop car? You could tell that the policeman was conversing with the 'bosses' and trying to determine if this was unsafe or illegal. Eventually, maybe after seven minutes up in the air....they were brought to Earth before some decision was made to get onto the farmer.7. The police action? I would say they were trying hard to just make this painless and ensure public safety. It was way beyond the anticipated 1,000 tractors, and Mainzer Strasse simply didn't provide the safe space that they needed. All total? I would take a guess that at least ten motorcycle police were there, and a minimum of 200 regular police from the city and state.
8. The Green Cross symbol? Well, it started a few months ago, and you will see it on farm vehicles, crops fields, and protest signs. It identifies the farmers as 'victims' (in their eyes).
9. Trump quotes in the mix? Yes.....'make farming great again'. I kinda laughed but obviously it's a Trump-type quote.
10. Making an impression upon political groups? I think by the middle of 2020....it will have a harsh affect upon both the CDU and SPD 2021 election situation.
11. What generally surprised me was the distance some of these folks covered....with reporters saying that some farmers had started their journey to Wiesbaden at midnight. I looked at 'car-tags' on the tractors.....wide variety....from Wiesbaden, Feldberg, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Worms, and so on.
12. I would suggest that ten-percent of the tractors were driven by young guys....18 to 24 years old. I probably noticed at least forty tractors driven by female farmers.
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