'We want to involve people in what we do'

Ruud Steinbusch and his wife Juliënne run an arable farming and contracting company in Voerendaal, Limburg, Steinbusch BV, together with their team. With a passion for the profession, they combine the cultivation of various crops with contract work. "Every day is different," says daughter Lotte, who also works in the company. "You are outside, working with nature and see the results of your efforts."

On their farm they grow various crops: wheat, barley, beets, potatoes, field beans, sunflowers and this year for the first time poppy seeds. The sunflower seeds and poppy seeds are specially grown and processed as part of a project together with various partners for a collaboration with a baker. Lotte: "That is nice to see. In this way our products get a destination close to home."

Potatoes are one of the most important crops on the farm. The soil type is loess soil. This is heavy soil that retains moisture well and that helps in dry periods. Because groundwater is only at a depth of 100 meters, they have to use tap water for irrigation. 

After harvesting, the potatoes are stored until early February. Then the warehouse is cleared for seed potatoes and for storage of, among other things, fertilizer as part of their Agrifirm plant location, a central point for the storage and delivery of products sector. To reduce the tare percentage, the potatoes go through a water bath before delivery. "That way we reduce the tare percentage from 8% to 10% to just 0,5% to 1,5%", says Ruud.

Challenges and innovations
In addition to the arable farming activities, they perform contract work, mainly focused on arable farming, but also on manure processing. In the field of crop protection, they work with a wing sprayer. In order to achieve as much drift reduction as possible and to reduce the use of crop protection agents. In addition, mechanical weed control by camera-controlled hoeing is increasingly used, mainly in the beets.

Ruud and Lotte still see various challenges in the sector. The price development of crops and restrictions in fertilization remain a challenge. "If we are allowed to fertilize less, that will be at the expense of production," Ruud explains. At the same time, they see opportunities. "We want to involve people more in what we do. Show how food production works and involve people in the process." According to Ruud, there is still a lot of misunderstanding about agriculture. "Sometimes you see people cycling past with their hand over their mouth when we are spraying, while they don't even know exactly what we are spraying. I like to make time to talk to these people."

Future and growth
Flooding is a major concern in the hilly area. Heavy rain showers can cause a water channel of up to 50 centimetres deep. Various measures are taken to limit this. Ruud explains: "Water always flows downwards and can cause mudflows. That is why we sow and plant as much as possible across the slope. Bulkheads are also often placed to preserve the fertile soil." The Limburg Water Board supports the construction of buffers to improve water management in the region. Ruud and Lotte have the ambition to further develop the company. "Seize opportunities and continue to respond to new innovations in order to continue growing a high-quality product."

What appeals to them most about their work? "Being outside, working on something valuable: food production," says Lotte. "We provide healthy food together every day, we can be proud of that." Regarding what the government can do better, Ruud says that he hopes the government will look more closely at what is happening in the agricultural sector. "They should visit farms more often to see what the impact of policy is. Together we can really make progress."

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