Many potatoes and onions are drying up

One of the destinations for this fresh water is Rusthoeve Experimental Farm, located in Noord-Beveland. A second ship will arrive on Thursday evening with 750 cubic meters of water from the Hollands Diep. “With the help of a contractor, we ensure that this water ends up in our basin, so that we can at least irrigate our onion tests,” says manager Eelco Boot.

Very precious
Other arable farms in the province are also switching to water supplies by ship. Obviously a very expensive affair, Boot agrees. “This will only be done for the higher-yielding crops. You have to do something.” According to him, fresh water is now a magic word in Zeeland. “Occasionally there are growers who have irrigation options, but this does not apply to 90%. The situation is worrying, to say the least. Many crops come to nothing. And we have seen that for three years in a row now.”

According to Boot, the seed onions in particular are having a hard time. But this also applies to other fine-seeded crops, such as sugar beets, chicory and onion onions. “We are dealing with a domino effect this year. We started the winter without frost, which meant that the soil structure was very poor. The lack of rain made sowing the crops a problem. The seed was already in clumps. That is now clearly visible. And the spring wheat is also not looking good.”

Much wind
Leonard van der Velde, arable farming advisor at CZAV, agrees with the dire situation. In his region, the South Holland Islands, it is usually possible to irrigate, but there too, according to him, it is 'very dry'. “We are experiencing a lot of wind this spring, which means that it is not always possible to irrigate. This issue also comes up regularly.” According to Van der Velde, the emergence of many crops will not stop there. “Growers had to do everything they could to sow their crops and get them up.”

According to the arable farming advisor, wheat is already becoming 'sharp'. “Normally we see a nice round crop, but now there are drought spots and it is only the end of May. Hardly any rain is expected in the coming weeks, so the grain filling will not be optimal either.” According to Van der Velde, it is still too early to make any statements about the yield for the rest of the crops. “We do see that the emergence of sugar beets is poor. That will have an impact on the kilos. We can irrigate onions and potatoes here, but this is often not the case for colleagues in Zeeland.”

Impending scarcity
Potatoes currently still get nutrition from the tuber, but they will soon need rain, says Boot. “The drought should not last two weeks anymore. Onions quickly need a little rain. Potatoes sit in a bed of soil and need more.” These are not good times for growers. “No one is happy. Normally you see everything growing and blooming at this time of year. Now we mainly see gaps and in the meantime only costs are being incurred.” 

If this leads to a form of scarcity, that could be good for price formation. “But as a grower you must have a supply,” Van der Velde rightly states. “Onions and potatoes that are now drying out cost a lot of money. Growers who still have a shed full of French fries potatoes are certainly concerned.”

Also in other regions
Of course, the current drought is not only a concern for growers in Zeeland. Precipitation is expected hopefully in almost all regions. Especially where sowing was difficult this spring and where irrigation is not an option. The effects of the drought are mainly noticeable in eastern and southern Netherlands and the prospects for the next 14 days are not very encouraging.

In the Peat Colonies there is talk of sufficient moisture in the subsoil for the growth of the crops. Growers can survive for a while, but if there is no rain after next week, an unprecedented drought situation will arise there too. Practical stories make it clear that the irrigation systems are running at full speed, not only in arable farming, but also in livestock farming. Unlike previous years, there is no surplus of roughage. The first cut of grass was also disappointing in terms of yield this year due to the drought. This means that irrigation capacity from livestock farms will not quickly become available for arable farming. 

frost damage
In potato cultivation, there are particular concerns about plots where night frost has caused damage. In combination with the drought, serious growth retardation may occur here. Without irrigation there is no doubt whatsoever. There is also a threat of double cropping on plots where the seedbed has not crumbled sufficiently due to drought. This is particularly undesirable in onion cultivation, because problems can arise later in the cultivation with, for example, crop protection if the crop is insufficiently uniform. 

No irrigation ban
In the Achterhoek, irrigation systems of large-scale arable farmers are also running at full speed for the third year in a row. Peter Schrijver of the Rijn & IJssel Water Board assures worried growers that there will be no ban on the extraction of groundwater, with the exception of a few relatively small-scale nature reserves. “As long as there remains a precipitation surplus on an annual basis, which even increases due to extra precipitation in the winter, there will be no ban on irrigation with groundwater.”

“We do everything we can to make best possible use of the surplus water in the winter during the growing season,” continues the water board director. “It is not the intention that water flows into the IJsselmeer, while it can also be retained and used by agriculture upstream. Retaining water is becoming increasingly successful.” However, it is still a challenge for the Rijn & IJssel Water Board to maintain a buffer during downpours. Schrijver: “Then we have to be able to switch very quickly. This is becoming increasingly possible thanks to the automation of weirs that can be adjusted on the fly over a large area.”

This article was written in collaboration with Erik Colenbrander.