Heavy rain ravages plots in the south

Once again, the south of the Netherlands has experienced heavy rainfall this week, up to 80 millimeters locally. This time mainly in Zeeland, where there is water between the recently planted potato ridges and parts of various plots are flooded. The extent of damage is difficult to estimate this early in the growing season, but it is a certainty that there will be damage and losses.

Last Tuesday, a considerable amount of precipitation fell in North Brabant and Limburg, after a monthly amount of rain fell there locally two weeks ago. Heavy rain showers also swept across the south from Wednesday evening and Thursday, mainly affecting plots in Zeeland. The differences in precipitation are large and locally up to 80 millimeters fell in recent days. The result was that the water remained on the plots and on certain plots the water has still not gone away.

Wait for damage
Onion grower Jacky Dieleman in Phillipine (Zeeland) received almost 50 millimeters of precipitation since Thursday morning, according to the AgroRxact weather station. There was water on several of his plots. He just planted his potatoes last week and his seed onions have already been up for a while. "We have done a lot of work in recent weeks and then you get so much rain. It is crazy to say that everything has been in vain, but it will cause damage and the first blow of the season has already happened. In addition, it entails a lot of extra work," says Dieleman. The extent of the rain damage cannot be estimated at the moment. "It's too early for that. In a month it will become clear what this rain has done to the potatoes and plants."

Plot in the region near Dieleman in Phillipine (Zeeland). Plot in the region near Dieleman in Phillipine (Zeeland).

A little further on in Ijzendijke, Zeeland, potato grower Brian Salomé also received almost 50 millimeters of precipitation that morning. He has just planted his potatoes and the water has not yet completely drained from his land. "Then you are happy that you can finally plant after such a long time and then suddenly you have this. It rained heavily all the time and everything did not fall at once. That is why you did not realize that so much fell. There is still some water on the land, like in the lowlands, so it can't really get away." Salomé also indicates that the damage is difficult to estimate. "I may have to replant a small part, but first we wait to see how the potatoes in the ground will develop. Then we can say something about the damage. What a start to the growing season!"

Heavy showers also fell in the center and north of the Netherlands on Thursday, but these were a lot milder compared to the south. Precipitation is expected again in the south until Saturday morning and the weather forecast for next week also gives a chance of a fair amount of precipitation.

Cause-effect #poop pic.twitter.com/Se5Ckm1lsj

— Philip Buijck (@PhilipBuijck) May 16, 2024

Jesse Torringa

Jesse is an editor at Boerenbusiness and focuses in particular on the arable farming sector, including grain and onions. He also closely follows the fertilizer market. In addition, Jesse works on an arable farm in Groningen with seed potatoes as the main branch.

j.torringa@boerenbusiness. Nl

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