News Arable
A hint of spring brings farmers to the fields en masse
A few days of easterly wind and sunshine have resulted in arable farmers taking to the land en masse. For many, it is the first opportunity to sow spring wheat and spread fertilizer. In the meantime, livestock farmers are busy getting liquid manure onto the land.
With temperatures in double figures and radiant sunshine in many places, it was like spring in large parts of the Netherlands. The ground is graying quickly, but appearances are often still deceiving. Anyone who digs into the ground will soon encounter soaking wet clay or saturated sand. The conditions are just good enough to sow and plant or fertilize the first crops.
Onions and beets in the ground
The first onions were sown on the sandy soil in Brabant in February - between showers. Last week it was also the turn of the first sugar beets. Sugar beets were sown in Posterholt and Hoeksche Waard in Limburg, among others. In addition to sowing onions, many arable farmers also plan to plant second-year onion sets. They often have the planting material in the shed for quite some time. February offered hardly any opportunities to go on land. Certainly not in the southwest.
Provide winter wheat with some nutrition. She certainly lacks it already. Actually exceeds expectations after all that rain. pic.twitter.com/89PplC3u8p
— Mark Verhage (@markske1983) March 9, 2024
The winter grains have also received their first nitrogen fertilization in many places or spraying has been carried out. Some liquid manure has already been spread on the light clay and sandy soils for early crops or for ploughing. A lucrative business for arable farmers, given the amounts they are paid, but a significant financial blow for livestock farmers.
Mow before fertilizing
Dairy farmers also still have to inject liquid manure onto grassland in most places. Not all plots, or parts of the plot, are dry enough. The very mild winter has ensured that the grass - which lasted a long time into the winter - continued to grow. That is why sometimes a section must first be mowed before the turf injector can even come into action.
Spring fertilization is starting. But how much nitrogen do you want to use? What really matters is good and neat fertilization. So minimize loss of ammoniacal nitrogen by doing neat work. Do you also pay attention to that? It can easily yield 60 to 80 euros per hectare. pic.twitter.com/dvJPzWfx7K
— Sjon de Leeuw (@SjondeLeeuw) March 8, 2024
The situation of arable farmers elsewhere in Europe varies per country. In Belgium and France it is noticeably wet, with persistent precipitation, and there are fewer opportunities to go on land. Conditions are better in Germany and England. Even elsewhere in Eastern Europe, the land is often dry enough to carry out the first works.
At long last a few dry days to get the machines out of the yard. Great to start potatoes and red beet. @suffolk @3musketeersltd #pear @Johndereere @edwards_farm pic.twitter.com/uziEfJ5fE1
— WantisdenHallFarms (@WantisdenHallFa) March 9, 2024
The spring feeling disappeared for a while on Monday, but will return later this week. Then temperatures will rise again to around 15 to 16 degrees. The westerly current is currently south of the Netherlands, which also explains why it is quite wet further south in Europe. In the second half of March, this current moves further north, which results in more changeable weather for us. This does not result in very large amounts of precipitation. However, current expectations call for several millimeters of rain every day.
Growing season in limbo
If the rainfall is not too bad, onions can be planted and sown on the high and dry plots this week and early potatoes can also be planted. A start has already been made on this, especially in the early German cultivation areas. In the southwest of the Netherlands, arable farmers are still mainly busy preparing the plots. This means that the start of the season is slightly later than we have been used to in recent years. That says little about the growing season itself. Last year's experience shows that an early start can quickly be destroyed by a cold and wet April.
Niels van der Boom
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