'Sometimes more than 100 hectares still to be planted' 

The three southern provinces: Zeeland, North Brabant and Limburg are areas where potato planting has still not been completed. Elsewhere in the country, locally it concerns a single plot, or parts thereof, but especially in Brabant and Limburg, the larger potato growers still have to plant a considerable area. This sometimes involves 100 hectares per company or a multiple thereof, according to insiders Boerenbusiness know. Here too, previously planted plots sometimes have to be (partly) replanted because large parts have disappeared due to water damage.

New showers coming
A small stroke of luck is that relatively little precipitation fell in the above provinces last week, which means that good progress has been made with planting. This is especially the case in the southeast of the country. Farmers are bracing themselves again because heavy thunderstorms are expected on Tuesday (June 18), which could cause 30 to 50 millimeters of precipitation locally. The ground is still quite saturated from the rain in May, so every millimeter is one too many.

In the southeast and southwest you can also find relatively good plots of potatoes that were planted early, but you have to look for them. The differences are therefore enormous. "Not all potatoes have been planted in Zeeland," says CZAV advisor Bram de Visser. "This is the case in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, Walcheren and Schouwen-Duiveland. Potatoes also still need to be planted in West Brabant, especially in the seed potato area around Kruisland."  

Delphy advisor Reinier Stoutjesdijk, who is himself an arable farmer, also mentions this. "A lot of rain recently fell in West Brabant in a short time, causing damage to potato crops. You will find plots with water damage throughout the south-west of the Netherlands. It is almost standard for at least 10% to 20% of the plants to be missing."

Pawing continues
Until what time can you plant potatoes? It is a question that no one dares to answer definitively. With the longest day rapidly approaching (next Thursday, June 20), you would expect this to be approximately the end date, but growers indicate that they want to plant all the potatoes. After all, the land has been rented, the seed potatoes delivered and fertilization carried out. "The buyer (chip factory) indicates that they want all the potatoes, so we will continue planting," said a grower. Until forty years ago, 'autumn seed potatoes' were grown in Brabant, which were planted after August 1 and harvested at the end of November. The current scenes are starting to look a bit like that.

Potato growers have mixed feelings about the planting machine. Chip factories desperately need every potato and are therefore pushing to get started. At the same time, it is the grower who risk runs. Currently, in the open market - with potato prices up to €70 per 100 kilos - a significant premium is paid, but anyone who has signed a contract cannot benefit from this. As described, the plots that have already been planted are not going to be great either. Growers therefore fear another crop failure that they will find difficult to digest. Even if the weather improves, the June potatoes will only produce half a harvest, which barely fills the contract volume.

'From just above to 55 upwards'
In addition to flooding, the extremely high pressure of phytophthora also puts things on edge. In Flevoland, the first organic potato plots have already been burned, although there is no yield. In addition to these sources and storage plants, a latent infection is sometimes present in the seed potatoes, says Delphy advisor Niek Vedelaar, who works in Flevoland. "Seed potato growers who have already selected, come across plants with stem phytophthora. "With moderate temperatures it is real potato weather. The earliest crops have the first 55 millimeter tubers underneath. The wet weather ensures that soil herbicides do their work well. Sometimes too good, causing crops to turn yellow. That puts the brakes on growth."

Especially in the clay areas, in the southwest and Flevoland, growers have had difficulty milling the potato ridges. That has consequences. "Where milling has been carried out while the potatoes were already at the top - in combination with herbicide and disease control - we see that plants do not emerge or develop with difficulty," Vedelaar notes. His colleague Stoutjesdijk also sees this image manifesting itself in the southwest.

Northeast slightly better
In the east and northeast of the Netherlands, growers have fared slightly better, although this also varies per region and sometimes per village. A few kilometers can make the difference whether a shower has hit you or not. "You come across plots that are closed and that are just emerging," notes Delphy advisor Bert Huizinga. The phytophthora pressure is high, but it does not cause major problems. You do notice that sensitive breeds suffer more from it. During the first moment of infection, the crops planted later just emerged and escaped the attack. Fortunately, arable farmers were on top of things during the second round."

If you go towards the transitional areas in Groningen and then along the Wadden coast, flooding will again occur frequently. On the Hoogeland, 30 millimeters fell locally on Sunday and plots were still flooded. Heavy showers around Ascension Day have already caused considerable damage there. Water damage can also be found around Veendam. Almost all potatoes have been planted in the northern provinces, but the finish line is not yet in sight.