'Technology is great, but also using your mind'

Brian Salomé, an enterprising potato grower from IJzendijke and participant of the Crop Tour, indicates that arable farming faces a 'number of challenges'. Particularly around the use of crop protection products. As a participant in the NPPL program, he strives for efficiency and progress. He embraces new technologies, but at the same time emphasizes that thinking for yourself with common sense is crucial for growth and success.

The following will follow during the 2024 growing season Boerenbusiness Dutch Crop tour another ten plots with Innovator chip potatoes. From planting to harvest, the participating arable farmers take us through the cultivation and decisions they make during the season. In this series of interviews we each get to know one grower, his company, vision and strategy. In this interview it is potato grower Brian Salomé, now a well-known participant in the Crop Tour.

"Our cropping plan follows a rotation of 1-to-4 or 1-to-5. Last year, wheat and sugar beets were on the Innovator chip potato plot. It just happened to be that way. Fortunately, we were able to harvest these crops in time, before the rain at the beginning of October. We then fertilized the plot with stable manure and sowed with green manure. But unfortunately the subsequent rain resulted in poor emergence and growth of the green manure."

"We grew the seed potatoes ourselves last year, so we were not affected by the scarcity of seed potatoes. Last year I grew one hectare, from which I can get 9 hectares of consumption cultivation this year. So I only purchased 1 hectare of seed potatoes for the ATR cultivation. I made this choice because a shortage of seed potatoes was expected. I am very satisfied with this choice, but the question remains what the growing season will bring."

Varied plots
Salomé points out a challenge within the plot: "The soil of the Innovator plot is approximately 30% siltable. Many of our plots still have quite a few differences in terms of soil. For example, the front of the plot may be 15% siltable. and the rear 40%. That poses quite a challenge, both in terms of processing and spraying." In addition to the Innovator, Brian also grows 4 hectares of export potatoes of the Mikado variety on another plot.

Salomé explains that the chip potatoes of the Mikado variety are sold directly after harvest. "Innovator is stored in the shed. We have space to store about 6 hectares, or about 350 tons. Normally we keep them until February or March. This year, however, due to a change in planning, they had to be sold after sale. stay longer. Fortunately, this did not have a negative impact on the quality. In terms of dormancy, it was time for them to leave."

Crop protection and fertilization
Salomé uses a BOS system to determine when it is best to spray, which is easy to plan with fourteen hectares of potatoes. "For fertilization, we usually use 25 to 30 tons of farmyard manure for the potatoes, followed by sowing green manure, which we leave until spring. Depending on the circumstances, the front cultivator is then used, possibly using a wing share prior to planting. cultivator to let the soil dry slightly," says Salomé.

He continues: "We add phosphate during planting, followed by a dose of 300 liters of N-xt calcium just before milling. This contributes in particular to the quality and reduced sensitivity of the potatoes to blue. We notice that this approach significantly reduces the blue sensitivity. During milling, we provide basic fertilizer with knife coulters and weekly foliar feeding after the formation of clots."

Salomé has two springs, each supplying four to five cubic meters of water per hour. "This is enough for me to use drip irrigation. This year I plan to fertigate 8 hectares of (planting) onions, compared to last year's 4 hectares. The reason I expanded this is because of a improved fertigation plan. Since the plants need a lot of water, the ratio is 50% onion onions and 50% seed onions."

Enterprising and progressive
Salomé describes herself as enterprising and progressive. "For example, I am participating in the NPPL program and we will soon have the autonomous tractor on our farm again. We have this tractor on a trial basis for two weeks. We may have the tractor mill the ridges for the onions in combination with drip hoses, a task that this tractor can now perform autonomously with one man in the field. Although these systems and techniques are great, it is important to monitor and use your own judgment. If something goes wrong, you want to know about it."

As a grower in the agricultural sector, we face a number of challenges, says Salomé. Particularly around the use of crop protection products, due to increasing resistance. “Almost all crops are at risk of becoming resistant to existing inputs, which poses a major challenge. Although organic farming seems an attractive option, costs are high and market demand is limited. Yet regulations almost automatically push us towards organic methods,” says Salome. “This means we need to explore alternatives, such as reducing spraying or using other means. We are also considering mechanical weed control and the option of robots, although this also has its limitations. It is all complicated by the use of heavier machines , making soil management a challenge. For this reason, we are also seeing a shift to lighter machines, despite a potentially longer operating time."

The last kilos
Salomé managed to get all the crops out of the ground last year. "If that doesn't work, entrepreneurship will be difficult. Everything depends on the type of entrepreneur you are. For example, there were large entrepreneurs who had optimally prepared for possible rainfall, while other large entrepreneurs had not yet done anything to prepare. You can have the last kilos, but if they stay in the ground you have nothing."

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