'There is a middle ground between organic and conventional'

David de Wit works at the family business that has been in his family's hands for over 270 years. When he takes over the business completely, he will be the ninth generation. "My father is still active at the business and my mother also helps out regularly," says David.

He himself works four days a week at Wageningen University & Research (WUR), but increasingly long-term decisions on the arable farm are falling into his hands. "The three of us do this together, but I notice that the responsibility is increasingly falling on me. The company consists of 70 hectares of sandy and clay soil. The crops we grow are table potatoes, seed onions, chicory roots, sugar beets, grass seed, barley and wheat. Approximately 40% of the area consists of rest crops. Taking good care of the soil ultimately yields profit."

Pre-fruit
Within the onion cultivation, the varieties Rockito, 'a variety known for its hard onion', and Hyroad are grown, among others. "We regularly experiment with new varieties. Looking for ways to improve cultivation is an enjoyable aspect of the job for me," says David. This year, the plot for the Crop Tour is the Hyroad variety, where the previous crop is potatoes. That is not usual. "Normally, we use grain or grass seed as a previous crop, but this year it worked out that way. After the potato harvest, the plot was ploughed. We do not necessarily store onions for a long or short period. We often try to make agreements for future sales early on."

Innovation plays an important role in the company. "For 7 or 8 years now, we have been using almost exclusively soil herbicides and no contact agents," he explains. "It is a pity that many soil herbicides may now be banned, but at the same time we see opportunities in new technologies such as the spot sprayer." For fungicide control, the availability of active ingredients is also tight and, according to David, the decision support systems (SOS) are not yet reliable enough to rely on blindly. "I see that the technology is developing further and further."

Through WUR, David has used a new type of decision support system in recent years. "For example, last season we had two 10-11 day intervals between sprayings against phytophthora, which resulted in considerable savings. These types of systems help us to better understand when and where we can best spray, which means we use less product and are better protected at the really dangerous moments."

Future of cultivation
In addition to conventional cultivation, the company has seriously considered organic cultivation. "There are a number of things that are holding us back, such as sustainability issues. When I look at the Farm of the Future, I see many opportunities where you can gain a lot of yield and quality with small interventions. That is why I see a middle ground between organic and conventional cultivation. That is more sustainable, but unfortunately this is not rewarded. Moreover, the demand from the organic market is not great at the moment."

David remains passionate about the way they grow today. "We remain open to innovation and to the opportunities that arise. I wouldn't say it will never happen, but for now I see no reason to change."

Breeding
In sugar beets, the company recently introduced a CR+ variety. "The new generation of CR+ varieties has the highest score for leaf health and combines two properties: a high level of protection against cercospora and a high yield. If you spray these once, you are actually ready for the season. Last year, we saw trial plots that were untreated. These varieties were completely dark green, while other varieties were completely brown. I think that is a great development. We think that we can still develop a lot in the coming years in the field of diseases and resistance."

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