Crop tour Dan Janssen
'Ex-country sales actually yield too little'
De Boerenbusiness Crop Tour 2021 will follow this year 10 plots of potatoes of the Innovator variety spread across the Netherlands. Every week we ask 1 potato grower about the plot, his choices and his vision. This week it is Daan Janssen, arable farmer in Escharen.
| Tojapigs |
| Location: Escharen Company size: 70 hectares Surface Crop Plot: Soil type: light loam Cultivation in hectares: 250 hectares of potatoes 150 hectares of roughage crops 50 hectares of beets 50 hectares of grain |
The potatoes have been planted, how is the plot?
"The Crop Tour plot has been planted, but the potato is not doing much with this cold yet. The plot has been plowed, there was grass last year. Planting went smoothly and the soil was very good. We can only wish it would be like this every year, we are not complaining. We planted at 32 centimeters with a planting size of 35/45. On the lighter plots we ground immediately after planting and as soon as it gets a bit heavier, we mill. On the ridging hood we have flaps that create thresholds between the ridges. This is the 2nd year that we do this and we like it. I am curious how it goes in a very wet year, because the water can then go nowhere. The biggest advantage is that with precipitation and sprinkling the water also remains in the higher and therefore drier places.
Which potato varieties do you grow on the company?
"We grow the varieties Première, Fontane, Ivory Russet, Innovator and Markies. We buy our seed potatoes and grow them for the French fries industry. We are located near the Meuse, in a transition area from river clay to light sand. This allows us to produce different varieties. growing and at different times in the year ahead."
How do you get the potato area?
"We rent a lot of land within a radius of 25 kilometers around us. We started with that because the weather has a major influence on the plots. We have experienced a few times that 100 millimeters falls in an area. If everything is in the same area, you will not be so happy.The other way around it is the same with drought.It often rains a lot further away and not here.Of course we can't rent everything around us, but this is a conscious choice.
What strategy do you use when storing the potatoes?
"We used to always get rid of all potatoes from the field, because we had no storage. That is about to change, because last week we coincidentally started building a storage shed for 8.000 tons of potatoes with mechanical cooling. We think we can do that. we actually don't earn enough with ex-land sales, so we're adjusting that strategy a bit."
Why are you participating in the Boerenbusiness Crop tour?
We have been participating in the Crop Tour from the very first year. To gain some knowledge from colleagues and to share your own knowledge. It's great and it's nice to see how things are going elsewhere every year.
Jesse Torringa
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
