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Onions, sugar beets and potatoes in the ground
The Netherlands was still on skates a week and a half ago. It has now made a U-turn again. The sandy soil in particular has dried out quickly, so that sowing and onion sets, sugar beets and potatoes are already going into the ground.
A few arable farmers and contractors in the sunny south of the Netherlands have decided to take their chance at the end of February and start sowing and planting. For example, on February 22, ware potatoes went into the ground in Central Limburg. Not much further, sugar beets were sown and onions are sown in the Brabant Kempen.
Take it easy on heavier ground
Farmers take it easy on the clay soil. Nitrogen is sprinkled on the winter wheat and light clay soils can now be plowed. Second-year onion sets are being planted in the southwest. Contractors can go to dairy farms to inject slurry on the higher plots.
An arable farmer in Montfort, Limburg, already sowed sugar beet on 23 February. Cosun advises against sowing beets now because of the great uncertainty surrounding the weather. Night frosts and low temperatures can greatly increase the chance of shooters. Incidentally, it often happens that beets are already sown on a few plots at the end of February.
Onion sets in the ground
The sandy soil is soon able to sow onions, but also spinach, for example. Onion sets are planned earlier for onion growers. Until now, little could be planted in the southwest. Most arable farmers prefer not to plow snow under. Plenty of planting is possible this week on the lighter soils in Zeeland, Brabant and South Holland.
Slurry is on the agenda for dairy farms. Contractors work 24 hours a day to empty full wells. Especially with the drag hose injector on less load-bearing soils. Not all plots are suitable for driving on yet. The frost period ended just in time for the fertilizer season to start. The machines remained in the shed until the last remnants of snow had disappeared. This gave the country time to settle down a bit.
Stay calm again
We have switched at an astonishing pace from heavy frost and a thick layer of snow to spring, with temperatures approaching 20 degrees in the southeast. It's the earliest spring week ever. Temperatures will drop to 11-12 degrees towards the weekend and next week. The wind turns to the east, increasing the chance of night frost. Farmers may be eager, but caution is still advised. DCA Agroweer expects high pressure areas to remain present for the longer term, which means dry and calm spring weather.
Niels van der Boom
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