Substrate allows little
Patience required for first spring work
Arable farmers are eager to start sowing and planting work. This is happening all over the country, although caution is required. Delicate handling of the substrate is the motto. The heavy rainfall in February and early March makes the soil even more vulnerable.
The onion and sugar beet sowing machines are in full operation, especially in the south-west and south-east of the country. Also in Flevoland more and more farmers are starting the work. Nevertheless, caution is required. The topsoil is dry and of good structure. If you go into the country with the shovel, a different image becomes visible. Time is clearly required for the water to settle sufficiently and for the clay to dry at the bottom. Spring-plowed soil can already be worked in many places.
Changing picture in Zeeland
'In Zeeuws Vlaanderen, the onion and beet sowing machines are in full swing', says Delphy advisor Johnny Remijn. 'Fibre flax and the last corners of summer grain are also sown. The planting of early potatoes has been started sporadically. The frost has ensured that the topsoil has a good structure. It's still wet at the bottom, which was caused by the showers we got around carnival.'
Further north, on the Zeeland Islands, and elsewhere in the southwest, the soil is in better condition. 'Sugar beets and onions are being sown everywhere. The last onion sets are also going into the ground', says fellow cultivation advisor Luc Remijn. 'The temperature and structure are good. Sometimes even too good, which makes the seedbed very nice. The substrate dries very hard with these conditions. Early potatoes are also being planted at the moment. Spraying work and fertilizer spreading are things that are constantly running.'
Caution in Flevoland
After two wet months, growers in Flevoland are taking it easy than their southwestern colleagues. According to Niek Vedelaar, cultivation specialist at Delphy, it is relatively quiet in East Flevoland. 'It looks good on top, but it's still very wet at the bottom. A lot of rain has fallen and that is clearly noticeable. The drainage pipes are often still running. Getting the shovel first, to assess the substrate, is a must before you get started. Therefore, be critical of the ground pressure of your machines. Light clay soil in the Noordoostpolder is now being plowed. They can get started there quickly because the soil dries quickly.'
Noticeable difference in structure
Stefan Muijtjens, independent agricultural adviser in Limburg and Belgium, estimates that most onions in the south of the country can be sown this week. 'The sugar beets are also sown. When these crops are included, attention is focused on planting potatoes.' Muijtjens notices that more growers are interested in onion cultivation, which is increasing in surface area. That's his feeling. Industrial vegetables such as carrots decrease in surface area. 'That cultivation has yielded too little yield in recent years.'
A lot of non-inversion tillage is applied on the Limburg loess soils. 'On plowless plots, the subsoil is generally in good condition,' says the consultant. 'It is striking that some types of green manure, such as Phacelia, are not always properly frozen. Perhaps because green manures remained small after the dry autumn. Plots plowed late dry out badly. Bad structure is a problem there. The soil has not been sufficiently weathered and plowing has been carried out under wet conditions. It matters a lot how much rain has fallen in the past period. The soil structure remains a recurring theme, once again. Many plots are compacted at a depth of about 30 centimeters. You see that now. Awareness is growing, which means that more growers are taking action for the long term.'
Attention to slurry
In the northeast, the Veenkoloniën with sandy and valley soils, it is still relatively quiet. The attention there is partly focused on the spreading of slurry. Arable farmers are busy sowing spring wheat and barley. Onions can be sown on the high and dry areas and the first starch potatoes can be planted. A few have started sowing sugar beets. On the clay soils in Groningen, it is also the sugar beets that attract attention. In the Hogeland, 30 to 40 millimeters of water fell. The ground has not been repaired. Arable farmers are therefore still waiting to sow the onions.
February was very wet. March also brought the necessary precipitation, which means that the subsoil is far from capable everywhere. Want to stay informed about the weather in your region, focused on arable farming? Then take out a subscription to DCA Agroweer† Are you more interested in the developments around arable farming? Then take a Arable farming Pro subscription.
Niels van der Boom
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