Blueberry Farmers: Taxpayer-Funded University of Florida Helping the Competition in Mexico

EXCERPT:

MCGIVERN: "The I Team found the university’s agricultural institute received nearly half a billion dollars from taxpayers in just the last three years alone. The head of that institute says it’s too expensive to sue if foreign farmers steal their blueberry plants, so it licenses to select overseas growers instead."
PAYNE: "Because it’s impossible to stop international theft of plants. You can’t stop any country to use it. So we’re trying to control it and make money to put back into the industry."
MCGIVERN: "The University took in more than five million dollars in blueberry royalties last year; 70 percent of that money goes back into blueberry research."
MCGIVERN (on camera): "What do you say to farmers who say the University of Florida is helping put them out of business?"
PAYNE: "Well it’s not true. This is not an issue in Florida; 99 percent of people understand it."