Don't panic about the last potatoes

Aviko Potato puts the progress of the Dutch potato harvest at over 90%. This means that the harvesting work is about 10% ahead of last year. Most of these potatoes are in the Southwest. Potatoes still need to be harvested, especially in Zeeland, but also parts of South Holland and West Brabant. Due to rainfall last week it was still not possible to start this.

Most potatoes in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen
In Zeeland, a considerable area still needs to be cleared, especially in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. On the heavy soil, the harvesting is difficult and the pace is really slow. Not much is expected to happen this week. Arable farmers and contractors hope to resume work by the weekend.

30% to be harvested in Belgium
This also applies to Belgium, where Aviko calculates that 30% of the main harvest was still in the ground until October 30. Inquiries with insiders show that this percentage corresponds to the findings in the field. In both West Flanders and Wallonia, quite a bit of local clearing still needs to be done. As soon as conditions permitted, crops were harvested, especially on the lighter soils. The heavy plots have not yet been cleared, that was not possible last week. This also applies to the south of Limburg.

In France, more than 20% of the potatoes are still in the ground. The situation is similar to Belgium. Rain has also fallen regularly here. Not always large quantities, but enough to leave the soil saturated, making it impossible to harvest.

Good weather expected
Growers are not yet panicking, despite the fact that some still have three quarters of the acreage in the ground. It is not the first time that a lot still needs to be harvested at the beginning of November. The long-term weather reports are favorable. Relatively warm and dry weather is expected after Monday, partly because the wind turns to the east. This makes the nights colder, but this is not negative for the potatoes. Last year the harvesting also turned out well under these conditions. In addition, it can have a positive effect on storage. If harvesting is too hot, the potatoes will germinate more quickly. In a transition year without CIPC, growers are not looking forward to this.

United Kingdom
What is striking is that in the United Kingdom about 15% still needs to be cleared. The harvest went smoothly, but the final steps are heavy. Precipitation makes it impossible to do much work and the pace is slow. This also does not result in major concerns. If the potatoes do not come out, the harvesting will be resumed next spring.