OVER a billion euros spent each year across the European Union on
environmentally friendly farming could be going to waste. A Dutch scientist has
found that a large “green farming” project in the Netherlands, designed to
benefit wildlife, doesn’t work.
Under the 20-year-old scheme, Dutch farmers are paid to delay the spring
mowing of their grass fields until June, to encourage birds to nest and hatch
their chicks in safety. But until now, nobody had thought to check whether the
birds have responded well to the idea. They haven’t, says David Kleijn of
Wageningen Agricultural University.
Kleijn compared bird life…
