Science - June 24, 2011
Abolishing product boards would threaten applied research
Many farmers, market gardeners and politicians are dissatisfied with the product boards and are considering abolishing them. That would cost applied research at Wageningen UR a lot of money.
Getting rid of the product boards would have a big impact on applied research at Wageningen UR, says the farming newspaper Agrarisch Dagblad. The product boards have commissioned applied research worth more than 15 million euros from Wageningen UR Livestock Research and Applied Plant Research (PPO). The research concerns new housing systems, fertilizer trials, methods for dealing with diseases and pests, and new greenhouse systems.
Farmers vary in their degree of support for the product boards. Dairy farmers and intensive livestock farmers are the most positive while market gardeners are the most negative. There are product boards for livestock and meat (PVV), poultry and eggs (PPE), dairy products (PZ), arable farming (PA), margarine, fats and oils (MVO), horticulture (PT), animal feed (PDV) and wine (!) (PW).