The impact of current nitrate policy measures in Flanders is estimated. A modular modelling system has been developed for comparing response and pressure indicators and for decomposing the response impact of policy measures. Compared to 1990, the internalised manure surplus is reduced to zero,...

The agricultural policies shift gradually from EU-level organised market interventions to local organised environmental policies. This paper explores the growth possibilities of the Flemish dairy sector with the outlook of a quota abolishment as a case study of this policy shift. The dairy quota...

This short poster paper presents ongoing research on the informal silage maize trade between specialised dairy farmers in Flanders, Belgium. We investigated the influence of transaction costs on the silage maize trade market. Additionally, we investigated the influence of the establishment of...

In 2015 the quota in the dairy sector will no longer be prolonged, as one of the measures to further liberalize the dairy market. To support farmers in this more volatile market and to increase their negotiation power, the EU has proposed several measures in a Dairy Package, amongst which the...

We investigate farmers’ intentions to apply biodiversity conservation practices from psychological perspective, using an adapted version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), including group norms and putting emphasis on moral norms and self-identity. The study is based on a quantitative...

Modeling the farm level impact of risk management programs, policies and instruments is traditionally been done on a farm-level basis. Hence, farm simulation models typically use the behavioural assumption of profit or utility maximization is risk aversion taken into account. However, abundant...

In order to support rural policy making with appropriate information, alternative territorial breakdowns of statistics are necessary. This paper shows how the widely used criterion of 150 inhabitants per km² can be fine tuned to better account for local specific conditions, in particular high...

This poster aims at describing different groups of technology use within a farm population and at delivering realistic prognoses of their future status as input for sector modeling. This because sector models are in many cases not based on reasonable technological progress estimations or too...

Greenhouse horticulture can play a major role in Flemish rural development, regional economy and employment. However, the sector deals with structural problems. Scale increase of greenhouse firms is required for economic reasons, but high investments and risks make this quasi unsupportable for...

Traditionally, the family farm has always been seen as a cornerstone of the agricultural production system. Given social, economic and political evidence (Calus, 2009), this organisational form might still continue to shape agricultural development. However, important changes in social and...