Brian Salomé from IJzendijke (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen) has an 80-hectare arable farm that his grandfather started. He has been in the partnership for about twenty years now. His parents are still partly involved, but for the past five years he has been running the company entirely by himself.
On his plots, Brian grows potatoes, onions, sugar beets, wheat and grass seed. He tries to keep the land green all year round by growing green manures over the winter. For ten years, he has been using no-turn tillage (NTP) and has gradually expanded this over his entire area. With this method, he tries to improve the moisture supply in the soil, so that he can retain the moisture longer and better during the season. He thinks that by using NTP, he has fewer problems with water than before. "By using NTP, I notice that the soil is better able to retain moisture, which is an advantage, especially in dry periods."
Before the potatoes, there was winter wheat on the Gewastour plot. In the autumn, he first spread 25 tons of manure and then loosened the soil and sowed a green manure. In the spring, he works it in again. "The regulations stipulate that I may only work in the green manure from 1 March to be considered green through the winter, but I doubt whether that is the best way. Due to the late decomposition, a lot of nitrogen is lost and that is at the expense of the yield."
Brian Salomé has an arable farm of approximately 80 hectares with a traditional crop plan in the Zeeland town of IJzendijke. The crop plan consists of French fries potatoes, (plant) onions, sugar beets, wheat and grass seed. The soil type is loam and clay of 15% to 40% siltable. The crop rotation is 1 to 4 potatoes and in general the previous crop is wheat.
The plot for the Gewastour is 7,5 hectares, part of which is intended for seed potatoes for next year. The varieties he grows are Innovator, Mikado and Alegria. The Innovator potatoes are stored, while the rest is sold off the land. Brian tries to store the Innovators until February. "The Innovator potatoes are an important crop for me, on average I store them until February, but if the price is good they can also go earlier or later."
'Only realize the importance of agriculture when it is too late'
He grows everything freely, which always involves a risk. "That's part of it, you have to be able to get your kilos." Last year, for example, 50 millimeters of rain fell shortly after planting, which caused half of the harvest to be lost. "In that case, you end up with an average of 20 tons, and then there's little left, while the costs continue." He uses drip irrigation for the onions. He doesn't have enough water for the potatoes to irrigate them properly, but so far he hasn't experienced any major problems with this.
However, Brian sees that the challenges for farmers are increasing. Only when there is a food crisis, he says, will people realize that agriculture 'should not just be sent out of the country' and see how important farmers are. However, Brian thinks that this realization will only come too late, after many farmers have given up their business because of the buy-out schemes. "The farmers who are now stopping because of the buy-out scheme will not come back. The realization of the importance of agriculture will only come when it is too late."
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