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'Winter barley does better than winter wheat'
Although grain cultivation is not 'at the front' of Gaston Kallen's construction plan, he does want to get the most out of it. "I try to work towards a 10 for all crops, including winter wheat and winter barley," he says passionately.
Kallen has an arable farm in Noorbeek (Limburg) together with his wife Sophie. He grows chips potatoes, sugar beet, seed onions, winter wheat, winter barley and chicory pens on approximately 180 hectares of loess soil. In recent years his enthusiasm for winter barley has grown, mainly because of the good yields. Over the past 3 years he has threshed an average of 11 tons per hectare; this means it surpasses winter wheat by an average of 10,5 tons.
More and more obstacles
It is an ash-grey day, but even on a day like today, the South Limburg hilly landscape still gives a bit of that holiday feeling. Everywhere there are walkers, cyclists and cyclists on their feet, so that despite the sad weather there is still the necessary liveliness. Farmer Gaston Kallen smiles when he hears these words. "I also think it's wonderful to live here, let that come first. But as an arable farmer there is also a downside: due to the growing tourism there is more and more traffic and it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach fields quickly and safely. I have to take more and more into account for walkers and cyclists, for example with spraying or irrigating. There is less tolerance, which sometimes makes the work more difficult." He also notices that more and more obstacles are being raised for business development. "Building a new machine or storage shed here is almost only possible on the site of an old shed. That puts a brake on renewal and innovation. You will therefore have to be creative to further develop your company, especially if you are completely focused on agriculture."
Non-turning tillage
Kallen has been able to steadily expand his company in recent years to the current area of 180 hectares. He then grows potatoes, sugar beets, winter grains, onions and chicory roots. The soil type varies from light to heavy loess soil (average 26% silt).
The tillage on the farm nowadays mainly takes place without turning (NKG). "We started this 10 years ago and we like it. We keep the organic matter at the top of the soil and erosion hardly stands a chance. I actually only plow for the fine seeds, such as chicory, and when I'm very late sowing with winter wheat," says the arable farmer. He considers the impending ban on glyphosate (including Roundup) to be a major concern about the system of non-inversion tillage. Kallen expects that such a ban could bring the progress of NKG to a halt. "With glyphosate we can stay in control of weeds with a minimum of active ingredient. Especially in recent years I have looked very closely at whether glyphosate is really necessary. It would be a great pity if we no longer have this agent on hand."
Winter barley is doing well
With about 20 hectares of winter wheat and 10 hectares of winter barley, grain cultivation does not occupy a large place in the crop plan. Nevertheless, Kallen is driven to get the maximum yield from these crops as well. Or as he puts it himself: "I try to work towards a 10 for all crops, including winter wheat and winter barley." He has been particularly pleased with the performance of winter barley in recent years. He says that he has removed an average of 3 tons of winter barley from the country over the last 11 (dry) years. In comparison: the winter wheat yielded an average of 3 tons per hectare in those 10,5 years. According to Kallen, the additional price of winter wheat (usually about 1 to 1,5 cents per kilo) can almost be offset against lower cultivation costs of winter barley (about €100 per hectare). What remains: half a tonne of extra yield from winter barley, in other words: a higher balance. In addition, because of the early harvest, winter barley also fits nicely into the job picture. "In July it is a little less busy at the company and I can thresh the winter barley in a relaxed manner. I think that's wonderful! So, in addition to work and risk spreading, it is also just a nice crop to have in the crop plan", so finds the farmer.
He thinks the only 'downside' of winter barley is that it must be sown early - around mid-October. And that is sometimes difficult in the busy autumn. In addition, the sugar beets and chicory roots have not yet left the country, so that winter wheat is sometimes the only option.
Healthy crop, maximum yield
With winter barley, Kallen goes for a healthy crop with a maximum yield. For example, nitrogen is applied to the crop as early as possible, sulfur is additionally fertilized as standard and the optimal moments for weed and disease control are carefully selected. "The consequence of this is that I often spray late at night or very early in the morning. The humidity is usually high, which is favorable for the effectiveness of the products. However, I don't mind working in the spraying at dusk or in the dark: there is LED lighting on the sprayer and it is therefore always wonderfully quiet", Kallen laughs.
For the choice of means, the arable farmer mainly relies on his regular advisor, Lei Steins of Agrifirm. "He has more knowledge in this area and also sees more grain fields where different agents have been sprayed."
Against diseases in winter barley in the past year Variano Xpro (on T1) and Elatus Era® + Alternil* (on T2) deployed. And Kallen really liked that. †Variano Xpro has proven to have a very broad, strong and long-lasting effect against fungi, including leaf spot and net spot disease. "That not only provides peace of mind, but also offers the possibility to extend the time of the T2 spraying by a few days and thus choose the optimal spraying time," concludes the arable farmer.
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* Alternil's authorization has expired. The drug may no longer be used this season.
