'The cultivation of onions pays off very quickly'

De Boerenbusiness This year, Crop Tour will follow 8 plots with yellow seed onions in the Netherlands. Every week we ask an onion grower about the plot, his choices and vision. This week it is Arjen Jakobs, arable farmer on the sandy soil of Drenthe in Wezup.

The new growing season has arrived, how is the plot of the Crop Tour?
"The plot is still unworked except for the headlands. There were potatoes there last year, so I hope that the potato storage has disappeared a bit due to the frost. When it is dry enough, the compost can be used over it. I want to loosen the sandy soil deeply. and then I plan to dig. This year I want to make sure that the seedbed is even better than last year. A little less cloddy and even stiffer. The seedbed will be 1,5 meters wide and the variety is Hoza."

Which strategy will you apply to onion cultivation this year?
"What I think is important is that the seed bed is well organized. Here on the sandy soil you need to have the soil as stiff as possible. I do this in a working pass, with a packer behind the spader. The biggest obstacle on sand is the dusting. Especially if the onions are just coming through, it can do a lot of damage. Another problem with dusting is that the onions become shallower. As a result, you get more fat necks and plants fall away. Fortunately, I have the option to irrigate. As soon as it is dry in the spring and there is little chance of precipitation, I immediately start the reel. Usually I also hunt the manure on it as a drift cover, which works well. But in the beginning you should not spoil the onions too much. At the beginning, let the onions search for water with the root system, make sure they go into the depths."

The onion area was still 4 hectares on the company 4 years ago. What appeals to you about onion cultivation?
"I used to be keen to expand my potato acreage, but that didn't work out because potato land is difficult to obtain. I then started growing onions, because grain did not yield much. We sowed onions then and that went quite well. "But the game that comes with it, the sales and the extra work are wonderful. In addition, it is a bit more exciting with the prices and the risk involved. The cultivation of onions also pays off very quickly. You can get 45 tons of onions from one hectare, but also 80. You can start irrigating with potatoes, then you might have a difference of 45 or 50 tons per hectare. What also helps is that there is plenty of land available for onions here in the area."

Where do you see arable farming in 10 years?
"I want to grow onions towards 40, maybe 50 hectares. That should only be manageable, with the occasional extra staff. I want to achieve that by exchanging land. I also see an expansion to red beets. and shallots are included, but then 40 hectares of onions are included in the cultivation plan as a basis. You also want the yield as high as possible, but that should not be at the expense of quality."

What do you enjoy as a farmer on the sandy soil in Drenthe?
"The growth, the stimulus of the more input you do and the more that comes out. When everything has been sown and planted and the field turns green again, that's wonderful. The best time is in the summer, around the longest day. Then the crop grows the fastest and is bright green, preferably without weeds in between. If you are not directly on it, you will have a lot of problems with weeds in the cultivation of onions. That costs your yield. I think that with the disappearance of IPC the "Weed control will also become a lot more difficult. We should not only take action according to the spraying calendar. We should especially look at the weather conditions, such as humidity and temperature."

You are participating for the third year, what do you expect from the crop tour?
"I hope for a lot of mutual contact between the growers, so that we can exchange ideas. Growing onions on sandy soil is of course very different than on clay. We are of course all onion growers, so we have common ground, but what resources do you use and what decisions do you make during I also think it would be interesting to drive past the plots in the middle of the growing season to see how things are going"

Jesse Torringa

Jesse is an editor at Boerenbusiness and focuses in particular on the arable farming sector, including grain and onions. He also closely follows the fertilizer market. In addition, Jesse works on an arable farm in Groningen with seed potatoes as the main branch.

j.torringa@boerenbusiness. Nl

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