Crop tour Water damage - week 29
'Wait for the water to drop, we have to go on'
The damage to crops in the southeast of the Netherlands is beyond comprehension. Thousands of hectares around the rivers are under water. The water level is now falling steadily, but it will take a long time before all the water is gone.
In the Netherlands, this mainly concerns the area around the Maas and the surrounding rivers in Limburg and North Brabant. The floodplains in these regions have been flooded to extreme heights and are causing havoc. What could be saved was saved, but most growers could do little.
Plots meters under water
The crops are sometimes meters under water, so that the plots are virtually invisible. Rows of trees make the division between the lots more clear. "You wouldn't say it, but right in front of us are plots with sugar beet, winter wheat and maize. Further on you can see the maize sticking out," says a bystander from Cuijk (North Brabant).
Exact damage unknown
After the extreme rainfall in Limburg and the surrounding neighboring countries, it was clear that the water level was probably going to break records, but that the water level rose so high and the rivers overflowed so far, many growers had not expected. The grassland was mowed with great effort and grain was chopped, often for animal feed. In this way, something was still earned from the depreciated crops. It is still difficult to say how extensive and what the exact damage is in the affected areas. Meanwhile, the water level is slowly falling and growers are wondering what damage the water will leave behind.
"We have to move on"
Growers of the Gewastour have also experienced the disaster from up close. "It won't be until this weekend before we can clearly see something on the plots," says Crop tour grower Geert Jillissen from Oeffelt (North Brabant). Some of his plots are located in the flooded floodplains and have been written off: "Most of the plots were completely under water, which is terrible! We now have to wait for the water to subside and then we'll see. We have to move on," said Jillissen.
It will take some time before the parcels in the floodplains are passable again. The floodplains act as a small bowl where the water flows to lower places and as a result it cannot flow back into the river up to a certain height and the water remains standing even longer.
Jesse Torringa
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