Dutch Crop tour Geert Jilissen
Changing strategy is not always an advantage
De Boerenbusiness Dutch Crop tour eight plots with yellow seed onions will follow this year. 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 fifth part: Geert Jilissen from Oeffelt (NB).
On the border of North Brabant, Gelderland and Limburg we find the village Oeffelt. A village near the river Maas, along which a lot of arable farming can be found. For example, Geert Jilissen's company, about two kilometers from the Maas as the crow flies. In the yard, the three poultry houses attract attention. In addition to arable farming, 35.000 broilers are also kept on the farm. However, Jilissen has already reduced the number of broilers in the past. The plan is to phase out this branch in the future and to focus entirely on arable farming, the entrepreneur says.
Geert Jilissen's mixed company is located in Oeffelt (NB) and grows around 100 hectares. This year, Jilissen's crop plan includes washed potatoes (1 in 4), onions (1 in 7), sugar beets (1 in 4), grain and canned goods. The company is run by Geert, his son and an employee.
Operations
In the vicinity of Oeffelt, the soil type varies from complete sandy soils to heavy clay soils. "My plots are just like that, from a real sandy soil to heavy clay with 60% clay content". His cultivation plan includes onions, beets, potatoes, wheat and preserves such as carrots, purple carrots and green beans. Onion cultivation has grown from 4,5 to 23 hectares of own cultivation in the past seven years. In addition, with the sowing combination - where rapid harrowing and sowing can be done in one pass - more than 100 hectares of contract work is carried out annually. Another branch the company is involved in is crop protection at other growers in the area. The Amazone sprayer covers many hectares during the season.
The onion cultivation
Jilissen is in its seventh season in onion cultivation. Onion cultivation has grown rapidly over the years. The company now grows 23 hectares of onions. "Only yellow onions and everything has been primed since this season. Last year we primed a few hectares and we liked it, hence the choice." The varieties that are sown are Vento, Promotion and Summit. Jilissen has two reels ready to irrigate the crop where necessary. "I am not the first to pull the reel onto the field, but I will water if necessary."
Jilissen is participating in the Crop Tour for the fourth year. The plot is five hectares this year and was sown on March 14. This made Jilissen the first of the participants this year. The Gewastour plot is the lightest plot of the company: sandy soil. The onions are now showing the second pipe.
Risk-free sales
Jilissen has no storage at the company, so everything is loaded and sold ex-land. In the future, the entrepreneur may want to change his strategy and keep product, especially now that his son is interested in continuing the business. However, he wonders what the advantage is: "If you don't have anything for storage yet, do you have to build a shed with the in-out storage equipment? In addition, there are storage costs and the risk. start if this way of growing also goes well?".
Jilissen's machinery has been modernised, but not every machine is available for all crops. The contractor mainly visits during the harvesting of the crops, such as potatoes, sugar beet and wheat. Also the sowing and harvesting of the preserves is not done by himself. Furthermore, Jilissen manages everything in-house and supports the contractor with the transport with his tipper.
Robin Winter
© 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.
