Average sowing date onions close to last year

The wet spring is clearly reflected in the sowing dates of the ten onion growers participating in the Crop tour onions. This averages out on April 19. The differences are large, as the first grower took his chance at the end of March and the last plot was sown at the beginning of May. 

The times to sow onions were few and far between this year, let alone under perfect conditions. Onion growers indicated earlier this season that you sometimes have to settle for less, citing the mediocre structure, the very wet conditions in the field and the time that was running out for many. They seized the opportunity to sow as soon as the ground permitted and often took risks. Especially with the weather forecast going in all directions in April. 

The average sowing date of the ten plots of the Crop tour comes out on April 19. This makes the date just under a week earlier than the 2023 season, which was released on April 24. However, the differences are large within the country. For example, the first plot in Kortgene (Zeeland) was sown on March 27 and in Kimswerd (Friesland) the seed was sown on May 2. Much of the area was sown in the second week of April, resulting in approx half was sown during that period. Afterwards, the percentage of onions sown increased steadily due to the heavy rainfall. Growers were given another chance around the end of April/beginning of May and another major success was achieved. The average sowing date is not fully representative for the Netherlands, but it does provide a good indication of when and where sowing took place.

Compared to other years, the average sowing date is a lot later. For example, the average sowing date in 2022 was March 28 and in 2021 it was March 31. Usually, sowing around those two dates is the long-term average in the Netherlands, but the last two seasons are far outside this.

Boundaries are revisited and pushed
Onion sowing progressed fastest in the center of the Netherlands, followed by the northern and southern regions. Plots were also sown a lot later than the crop tour plots. Growers who participate with a plot and also carry out contract work indicate this. Rinus Struik, account manager at De Groot & Slot, also sees this in his working region of the South Netherlands. According to him, the boundaries have been tested again this season.

"There are growers who only sowed on May 15 due to the circumstances of this spring. Boundaries were tested again and even exceeded again this season. We will see how that will turn out in the coming months." In addition, Struik indicates that some growers' seed remains in the pack. "Growers thought it was too late to sow onions and the plots were also not sufficiently prepared in terms of their condition. That is why they did not sow. There are not many, but it adds up. You can also see, for example, that good and high parts of a plot have been sown and the poorer spots have been skipped. So some adjustments have been made to be able to sow part of it on time."

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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