Dutch Crop tour Dan Tap
'Harvest risk of potato variety became too great for me'
The harvest risk became too great for potato grower Daan Tap with the Agria variety on the heavy river clay. That is why he decided two years ago to choose a different variety and the switch turned out well with the heavy rainfall last autumn. The weather extremes of recent years are a challenge for arable farming. However, there are also challenges that have nothing to do with the climate, says Tap, who farms in a 'busy' region.
The 2024 growing season will follow Boerenbusiness Crop tour again ten plots with chip potatoes of the Innovator variety. From potato planting to harvest, they take us through the cultivation and the decisions they make during the growing season. With this series of interviews we get to know the grower and the company, his vision on cultivation and certain strategies. In the first interview of this season it is Daan Tap, arable farmer in Elst (Gelderland).
Tap's arable farm grows crops on approximately 125 hectares. The crops are winter and spring wheat, French fries potatoes, seed onions, corn and grass. The cultivation plan is extensive with a rotation of 1:7 for potatoes and onions. The soil type on the company is heavy river clay, varying from 40% to 70% siltable. A total of 18 hectares of French fries potatoes of the Innovator variety are being grown this season. Winter barley is the pre-crop of the crop tour plot and the green manure is a mixture of different types.
The 2023 potato harvest went well at Tap Akkerbouw and the Innovators are still lying quietly on the slatted floors in storage. Last season was only Tap's second year growing Innovator. In previous seasons the fields were full of Agria. This variety was certainly not disappointing in terms of yield or anything else. The reason why Tap switched varieties is the increasing harvest risk of Agria due to weather extremes. "We stopped growing Agrias, because I thought the harvest risk was too great on our land. We are growing on heavy river clay with up to 70% silt content. Potatoes and Agria also grow very well on it, that is not the reason. But you have to be able to harvest on time. As soon as it gets very wet, you can no longer get going and that risk became too great for me."
More likely to be harvesting
Coincidence or not, switching breeds turned out to be a good choice. "Last autumn showed that the switch from Agria to Innovator was a good decision. You are harvesting about three weeks earlier than with Agria. With these extreme weather conditions that have increased in recent years, a variety like Innovator gives more harvest security. Last season, Tap harvested all the potatoes in time before it started raining in mid-October. The sowing of grain was also almost completely successful. The plowing of the potato land for this season only took place after the turn of the year due to the many persistent precipitation. Normally they try to do this as early as possible.
'We like the extensive construction plan'
The company has an extensive cultivation plan of 1 in 7. "It actually grew that way in the past and we like it very much. This way we can maintain the yield and keep the soil healthy. Especially with onion cultivation, I think 1 in 7 intensive enough. We can be more intensive with the potatoes, but this works out well with the construction plan and we have the storage sheds full. If we start growing more potatoes, we will immediately have to build additional storage. Then a lot will change."
Nowadays, Tap mainly carries out the work at the company himself with the help of his father or an extra hand during busy periods. He also manages most of the machines himself, although he outsources the sowing and harvesting of the onions to a contractor. The same applies to potato planting and harvesting in the autumn. "That is not really possible with our own machines for the area that needs to be done."
Sales strategy is not fixed
This season, getting seed potatoes with the desired size grading is quite a challenge. Tap was early in determining the seed potato volumes in the autumn and has filled his desired area with the size grading he had in mind. “Maybe that early capture helped,” he notes. The Innovators are being grown this season for a 'free price', but with the obligation that delivery is made to the processor from whom the seed potatoes were ordered. However, Tap can determine the time of sale himself and may still participate in the potato pool.
The sales strategy used by the company is not set in stone, on the contrary. "Our strategy is very variable. One year we grow everything under contract, while the next year everything is free. Or I still do something in the pool. It mainly depends on the level of the contract prices. Are they too low? my view or the contract price drops, then I will grow everything freely." That strategy has worked out reasonably well in recent years, says Tap. However, efforts are made to ensure long-term storage at the company.
In addition to the fries potatoes that can be stored on the company until May or June, there are also onions in the storage next door. A crop that was introduced to the company ten years ago. Yellow was grown last year, but that will change next season. "We are going to grow red onions this season. I already thought about that last year. It's my feeling, but I don't really see yellow onions doing well with the price. Red is also going to become a thing with the expansion, but I see that will work out sooner than with yellow. There is a lot of expansion of yellow in the Netherlands and exactly the same applies across the border with Germany." However, that is just the expectation about the area. Tap indicates that sowing has not yet taken place. The growing season has not yet started and the situation could be very different in a few months.
Maintaining the area is difficult
There are plenty of challenges in the future with agriculture. Tap mentions the shrinking package of resources and refers to last year's phytophthora pressure as an example. Other challenges are also crucial for him. For Tap, they are located in the immediate vicinity of the arable farm, which borders directly on a residential area of the city of Elst. The pressure on land is enormous. "The biggest challenge in the future is to maintain the acreage here. We are located between Arnhem and Nijmegen, a busy region with great pressure on land due to housing construction, industry but also nature. That will be our biggest challenge in the future," Tap explains. Moreover, tree growers' appetite for land in the region is also great. This sector has grown significantly in size in recent years. Due to the pressure on the land, specifically for housing construction, Daan Tap expects that he is the last generation of the arable farm in this location. "But for now that is still very far away."
Jesse Torringa
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