Dutch Crop tour Jack van Liere
'We are close to the border in crop protection'
De Boerenbusiness This year, Gewastour is following ten plots with the French fries potato variety Innovator. The participating growers take us along with the growth from sowing to harvest and the decisions in cultivation. In this series of company reports we introduce them. In the second part: Jacco van Liere from Dronten (Fl).
With his John Deere 8335 RT crawler tractor and around 500 hectares on which he cultivates, Jacco van Liere is one of the larger growers in Flevoland. At his company just outside Dronten, Van Liere has four to five employees. The 500 hectares are divided into traditional crops such as grain (3-on-8 rotation), potatoes (1-on-4), onions (1-on-8) and carrots (1-on-8). Land for sprouts and flower bulbs is also rented out (1-to-8). "Perhaps in the future I will adjust the cultivation plan and go to 4 out of 8 grains to get the most out of the expensive fruits. That I invest in the expensive crops in this way. We are in a fusarium-sensitive corner here, but I have it idea that with onions on 1-on-8 we have things under control".
Van Liere's acreage is around 500 hectares, divided into owned, leasehold and leased land. The crops grown are wheat, barley, potatoes, onions, carrots and rental for bulbs and sprouts. In addition to Van Liere himself, there are three full-time employees and a freelancer. The company has one branch in Dronten.
'My aim is to be full'
Van Liere grows 85 hectares of seed potatoes for HZPC and 75 hectares of ware potatoes with the Agria, King Russet and Innovator varieties. The King Russet is grown because it is highly resistant to AM. All ware potatoes are contracted and therefore already have a boss. The yield is preserved by mechanical cooling until June. However, there is not enough space to store all of Van Liere's products at his own company, so that space has to be rented every year. "My goal is always to be full myself. When all the leased land stops, the custody must still be full. I'm not going to build for leased land."
Van Liere has many plots in the Dronten area. Its soil type varies from 15-50% silty, but usually has to make do with 40%. Because there is a difference in soil type, Van Liere ensures that his seed potatoes are placed on the lighter plots and he tries to grow carrots on the heavier plots. Different green manures are grown, depending on the time of sowing and the pre-crop. Reed fescue, yellow mustard, black radish and clover mixtures are grown. These are worked and plowed under in the autumn.
Caring for GBM
Van Liere is concerned about the available crop protection products. He says that we are moving closer to the border: "Different products are disappearing from the cupboard, so that you have to spray three times with another product to get the same result. In addition, it is also much more expensive as a grower. ". On the other hand, in some crops it is almost impossible to find a good alternative. "Last season it was already difficult in the onions with the downy mildew in the onions. Fandango then became available again, but it is a very thin package of resources." Accidents must first occur in cultivation before there is a sense of a good package of resources. It is not an issue that it can be made more sustainable and must be greener, but the route to it is.
Mechanization
The mechanization park is extensive and contains almost all machines under own management that an arable farmer needs. With its 8-row ridge cultivator, the hectares fly in before planting. By having all the mechanization in your possession, it is easier to steer and you have everything under control. The costs of mechanization also continue for a larger company, but the surface area makes it easier to invest in doing it yourself.
Robin Winter
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