'We used to just do whatever'

Potato grower Daan Tap from Elst, Gelderland, has a CropExact weather station with a soil moisture sensor from AgroExact on almost all his potato plots. This way he knows the needs of his crop. "On average, I started irrigating a week earlier," he says. "In the past, you determined the starting moment based on feeling. You basically just did whatever."

Chip potatoes and seed onions are the two most important crops for arable farmer Daan Tap. In addition, winter grains are grown on the predominantly heavy river clay in the Betuwe, of which Tap cultivates 125 hectares. The young arable farmer can safely be called an intensive user of the AgroExact systems. “I have six CropExact systems in use plus a central weather station,” he explains. "One of the systems is used in the context of Boerenbusiness Crop tour, which I took part in for the first time in 2023. We now have three years of experience with AgroExact sensors."

Intensive monitoring
Tap only grows the Innovator variety and has good experiences with it on its land. "Actually, all plots are located within a radius of 3 kilometers around our company. However, I sometimes choose to install two systems on large plots, and they also indicate different values. A thunderstorm can damage one side of the plot put on, but not the other side."

In addition to regular arable farming activities – including crop protection – Tap mainly uses the weather data for irrigation. "I estimate that on average we started irrigating a week earlier compared to when we still had a traditional rain gauge. We also stop more than a week earlier than before. Last summer I deliberately stopped in anticipation of the precipitation that was expected and also Because I can rely on the data from my plots, I dare to make that decision until the harvest period. I also find the soil moisture percentage interesting to know whether I need to irrigate before harvesting."

Better quality, more kilos
Being able to irrigate more accurately primarily results in cost savings. Less fuel, man hours and machine costs. But the arable farmer also sees more accurate control at field level reflected in his product quality. "By being in the right place at the right time with the irrigation reel, you get a more homogeneous product that is of higher quality. In addition, you also simply harvest more kilos."

Tap uses the opportunity to watch five of his colleagues in the app, so that he can also view the rainfall in the region. "I monitor the amount of precipitation so that I can adjust my operations accordingly, such as sowing and planting. During the growing season I check the soil moisture sensors daily to see how the suction pressure is developing and whether irrigation is needed and which plot gets priority. ."