Spring work is stealing between the showers

It has been a long time since farmers and contractors were not yet fully busy in the fields in mid-April. In recent years, sowing and planting has often been possible from the end of March. The spring of 2023 immediately feels late. A real comparison is not easy to draw. You'll soon have to go to the history books for it.

Wet springs
Planting was also done very late in 2021. The last potato plot of the Dutch Crop tour even broke ground on June 18. However, the national spread was enormous at the time. At the end of March and beginning of April quite a bit of work could already be done, after which a rare cold period took place. 2016 was quite wet with over 80 millimeters of rainfall, but most of that rain only fell at the end of April, when many crops were now in the ground. A really late spring. The older generation thinks of 1998, 1983 or 1965.

Until week 14, only 0,5% of the national sugar beet area was in the ground. Good for almost 500 hectares. Last week and during the Easter weekend something was added, especially in the Northern Netherlands. 2018 and 2008 both had an average sowing date of April 16. Given the weather forecasts, that date will be surpassed by 2023.

Nervousness
Most arable farmers are not really nervous yet. Almost everyone will be eager to get on the land, but a later start does not have to have an impact on the crop. This is mainly due to the weather that will follow later this spring. It is mainly the early crops that need to be planted. Even though the second-year onion sets have been started in time, planting is not yet complete. A lot of early potatoes also still need to be planted.

Difficult manure season
Slurry manure could be spread at full speed from February 16 onwards. When it was the turn of the arable plots, rain threw a spanner in the works. Contractors and fertilizer distributors must have nerves of steel. Many winter grains were in good condition and wheat and barley continued to grow quietly despite cool temperatures. As a result, most winter wheat and winter barley plots are now too long to properly fertilize and a second nitrogen application with fertilizer has already been applied to the plots.

Some of the slurry can probably be placed on arable land. For example, for the potatoes. However, not every arable farmer on clay soil will be happy with this. Especially if the stealing continues, you don't want to wait for the injector and structural damage is lurking. The collection contribution for fattening pig slurry has increased, especially in the South of the Netherlands, the DCA listing shows. That for the middle region has actually fallen slightly. The quotations for cattle manure also show a small increase.

Northwestern Europe is wet
The situation in surrounding countries is similar. Particularly in the coastal regions, changeable weather has meant that very little has been sown and planted. This applies to Belgium but also France. It is especially wet there in the northwest. The northeast of the country is noticeably drier and spring work can take place there. The situation is not much different with our eastern neighbors. There too, machines are still in the starting blocks for sowing and planting.

Dryer in limbo again
Meteorologists find it extremely difficult to make a reliable prediction for the course of April. Southern Europe has been dealing with a rock-solid high-pressure area for a long time. This brings summer temperatures and dry weather. The north of Europe is experiencing a depression above the British Isles and Ireland. There is a good chance that the consequences of this will be felt by us. It is difficult to say whether the high pressure area will move north from next week.