'Keep long until I like the onion price'

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 Klaasjan Boer, arable farmer on the Zeeland clay in Kortgene.

The onion plot was sown on March 28, how is the plot now?
"The sowing went well, so far I am satisfied. It is now on the cold side, but it is better compared to previous years. Then the turnout was bad. Last year the plot had winter wheat and the main tillage was plowed. "Just before sowing, the field was laid out with a combination of a speed harrow and rotary harrow. I use the rotary harrow so that the seed bed becomes nice and flat. That works well for me on this plot with a siltability of 25%."

"We had received 4 millimeters of rain the day before sowing, so the seed was nicely surrounded with moisture. The onion seed is about 2,5 centimeters deep and when sowing Quickstart and Vydate were applied in a 1,5 meter seedbed. It was actually a bit early to sow, but the conditions were good and then you have to start." 

Which onion variety(s) do you grow on the company?
"I grow yellow seed onions of the Dormo variety. I've been doing this for years and it works well. I don't grow red onions on the farm, this would have been at the expense of my acreage of yellow onions and then I would have had to set up an extra cell. the yellow onion is slightly less susceptible to disease and onions have been grown on these grounds for years, which does not make it any better." 

Why did you choose Dormo on the Gewastour plot?
"Because the onion is bullet hard and hardly becomes bare. My strategy is to store onions and this variety fits well with that, especially with the low percentage of tare. Of course I look at quality and until when I can store. But if the quality is good they can stay there for a very long time. The moment of sale differs, but I wait until the price suits me. Sometimes it pays off." 

Irrigation is not an option in Kortgene, what else do you run into?
"There is something in the onions every year. It is dry, the weed pressure is high or it is the thrips that show themselves. Even with the disappearance of some crop protection products, a major challenge awaits us in onion cultivation. Mechanical weed control is a solution "If the weather or the growth of the crop is not good, I think it will be difficult to apply. But as far as the soil in this area is concerned, I'm lucky, the soil is quite suitable in itself. We did that 15 years ago chosen when we came to farm here, because I used to have an arable farm in South Holland." 

Why are you taking part in the Crop Tour?
"It is nice to see how the onions are doing in all those different areas in the rest of the Netherlands. Also in Zeeland, where you often hear that it is becoming more difficult to grow onions due to, for example, fusarium, heat, drought and the I can't irrigate. That's also true, especially in recent years with that drought. But a lot of onions are still grown here and good yields are achieved. It's nice to follow a grower in Zeeland and this shows during the season."

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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