The 2023 season ends as it began: way too wet

With approximately 220 millimeters, October was the wettest month in De Bilt since measurements started in 1906. This breaks the record set in 1932, when 193 millimeters fell. An average of 150 millimeters fell across the country, compared to the normal 75 millimeters. A considerable amount of precipitation fell in most arable regions, with the exception of South Limburg. The first half of November is also tough. Precipitation is in the weather forecast almost every day.

Comparison with 1998 is flawed
It is therefore not surprising that the comparison with autumn 1998 is regularly made. Yet that parallel does not hold. In 1998, cloudbursts occurred as early as mid-September, with KNMI observers reporting rainfall amounts of between 50 and 100 millimeters in 24 hours. Dirksland (South Holland) topped the list with 134 millimeters in one day on September 14. The harvest had barely begun. In the necessary places there were crops with their feet in the water. It was practically not dry anymore that autumn of 1998. To make matters worse, frost began on November 19 and the last vestige of hope to save the remainder of the harvest disappeared.

If we look at this season, it only really got wet in mid-October. We also did not have major downpours on a large scale. However, around the start of the potato and onion harvest in Brabant and Limburg, there were plots with water damage as a result of the heavy rain in August.

What still needs to be cleared?
Fortunately, an important part of the potatoes had already arrived before it really started to get wet. Estimates about what is still in the ground vary. PCA wrote in the latest estimate (of October 30) that approximately 36% of the potatoes in Flanders still need to be harvested. In Wallonia and France, the harvest is further advanced, according to insiders, but they do not dare to put a percentage on this. In the Netherlands, estimates vary considerably. They vary greatly per region. One person estimates that nationally there is still just under 30% in the ground, while the next person thinks that 20% is completely gone. Aviko Potato also assumes the latter in its latest estimate of October 27. Germany has made the furthest progress in the EU-4 with the harvest, according to insiders.

Whether everything can be cleared is subject to debate. The late, wet and cool spring has postponed the entire cultivation. There are growers who have taken a gamble and kept the potatoes green for as long as possible to get the last kilos. Another group did not have the opportunity to grub earlier, for example because of the choice of variety or too low underwater weight. Especially on the heavier soil, the potatoes had difficulty getting started.

On the sandy soils in the east and south of the Netherlands, growers are used to harvesting some of the crops later. Normally, an attempt is made to leave the higher plots for last, because they are more easily accessible. According to some, many low plots have been left standing due to the rain in recent weeks. It's going to be quite a battle to get that out. Attempts are made to harvest every day, with the additional use of bunker harvesters on caterpillars, but the capacity is limited and the work is extremely difficult.

Also seed potatoes not rounded
It is striking that there is still quite a bit of seed in the ground. This is especially the case in the Noordoostpolder, but a lot of clearing still needs to be done in the Wieringermeer as well. The mother tubers had not disappeared earlier this fall, so they had to wait. In the seed potato areas along the Wadden coast, the vast majority have been harvested, with the exception of a few areas.

Quality
It is difficult to get a handle on the quality of the potatoes that are now being squeezed out. If there is water between the ridges, it is almost inevitable that there will be water rot at the bottom of the bed. If that happens in August, the motto is to wait until they have rotted out before harvesting. At the beginning of November that is no longer an option. If things go wrong, there won't be many opportunities to harvest. The lower temperatures slow down the decay of the infected potatoes. Getting these lots dry is also a challenge for growers. Especially when the batch contains tubers infected with phytophthora, which occurs in Flevoland and the southwest.

It's not just the potato harvest that is struggling. Only little has been harvested in crops such as storage carrots and chicory. The head is off, but not much else. And there are also concerns about the quality of these crops, especially in places where there is or will be water. The sugar beet harvest has been quite successful so far. Things are now starting to get very wet for beet harvesting, although Cosun Beet Company indicates that it does not see any problems with delivery yet. A beet harvester can enter the field sooner than a potato harvester, but a few dry days to allow the water to drain are not an unnecessary luxury.

Next crop delays
Sowing winter grain or a catch crop after harvest is the next challenge. Growers who harvested potatoes or beets in time were generally able to get winter wheat and barley in the ground under very good conditions. Whether it will turn out well is another matter. Wet places with water on them are no exception. If the harvest is late or has yet to be harvested, sowing wheat or a catch crop becomes difficult. Under the current circumstances, many plots of land are not left behind like a billiard table, to put it mildly. Winter wheat can now be sown until mid-January and with spit sowing something will soon be possible. Then of course dry days are needed.