Richer for dung
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.(First Edition)
AMSTERDAM (Reuter) - Dutch pig farmers are marrying not just for better or for worse but for manure. Legal limits on how much manure their livestock can produce have forced pig breeders to marry to boost their farms' dung quotas, a farmers' union said.
A spokesman for the North Brabant Christian Farmers' Union (NCB) said that more than 200 Dutch farmers had married to raise their dung quotas since 1987. Young farmers either take over dung allowances that farmers' daughters have inherited early, or persuade their fiancees to buy up dung rights from other farmers. They then take over the dung quota when they marry. There are more pigs than people in the Netherlands, which excrete more dung than the soil can absorb.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments