Due to the wet autumn months, arable farms have not put their priority on sowing winter wheat. Compared to last year, quite a bit still has to go into the ground. The NAK inspection service received fewer applications for seed certification.
Because rain has delayed the harvest of potatoes, onions, sugar beets and other crops, less winter wheat has been sown than last year. On the one hand because plots were not released early and on the other hand because the harvest took up more hours and sowing was postponed. The situation is now changing, now that the harvest is in the final phase for many crops.
Harvest and quality excellent
On November 1, the NAK inspection service had issued a certificate for a total of 10.731 tons of winter wheat. That is 1.170 tons less than on the same date last year. "We have been reluctant to certify seed," explains Jan Eggo Hommes of the NAK. "This wheat is available, but still needs to be certified. The grain seed harvest has been good and we are also pleased with the quality. That is not the reason."
A total of 2016 tons of winter wheat seed was certified from the 15.434 harvest. Assuming similar levels in 2017, more work needs to be done and more wheat sown.
Shifts in barley
The NAK has certified more winter barley. This amounts to 814 tons, compared to 605 tons last year. Hommes has no clear explanation for this. "We see that barley is more subject to shifts from year to year. Yet we notice that cultivation among arable farmers is increasing. Interest is growing, but this varies from year to year."
Is the area of field beans increasing?
Perhaps remarkable is the certification of field beans. The NAK does not distinguish between winter and summer field beans. As of November 1, it had certified almost 140 tons of seed, compared to 52 tons last year. This may indicate a growing interest in the cultivation of protein crops.
The NAK cannot confirm or deny whether more certified seed actually means more hectares. Seed also goes abroad.