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'From 5 hectares to 70 hectares of fodder beets'
Among the dairy farms in the clientele of Ten Brinke BV, the acreage of fodder beet has grown considerably in recent years. The agricultural supplier in Creil (Flevoland) supports livestock farmers with cultivation guidance to put fodder beets back on the map.
"fodder beets In our opinion, they certainly offer added value for dairy farmers," says Willem Robert Politician. He supervises growers of forage crops in the province of Friesland and the surrounding area. "Feed beets have a high nutritional value yield and increase the fat and protein levels in the milk. Their palatability increases feed intake and reduces concentrate consumption. From a feed point of view it is a really nice product, the soil is usually available and we also have a good grasp of cultivation."
"I do check in advance with the livestock farmer whether he is well equipped for daily feeding of the fresh beets. If that does not form an obstacle, then the experiences are always good. This winter the beets also fit perfectly with the often coarse , less tasty grass silage."
Fresh feed to Jerseys
One of the fodder beet growers in Ten Brinke's working area is the Huitema family from Witmarsum. Jouke Huitema milks 100 Jersey dairy cows here, together with parents Gerard and Tiny. In 2016 they bought fodder beets and that tasted like more. "The fodder beets have been in our cultivation plan since 2017. We grow Rialto fodder beets, they come out nice and clean. The cultivation is in good hands of Ten Brinke and contractor Doeke Osinga from Kimswerd."
Huitema feeds the beets fresh from early autumn until March. "With fresh feeding, you benefit optimally from the taste and the increase in the contents in the milk. I load them into the feed mixer with a chip box at the front loader, after which they are mixed with grass silage in front of the feed fence. The cows love it."
From 5 hectares to 70 hectares
Contractor Doeke Osinga takes care of the fodder beet cultivation at Huitema and other livestock farmers in Friesland. "In five years we have grown from 5 hectares to almost 70 hectares. Most livestock farmers who start with it are enthusiastic because of the good feeding experiences. However, the cultivation requires the necessary care and attention, and therefore also investments. get used to having to spray the fodder beets four to six times, because they are not used to that with grass and maize."
However, the high nutritional value yield of fodder beets more than makes up for the cultivation costs: 100 tons to 150 tons of fresh fodder beets per hectare with more than 1.100 VEM per kilo of dry matter is the practice in growing years. Osinga harvests these yields from customers on heavy clay soil, sandy soil and in between. "I don't see any obvious differences. fodder beets do well everywhere, as long as the pH and soil structure are in order. The soil must also remain sufficiently drivable in the autumn to be able to harvest properly without structural damage. An advantage over maize is that you can leave the beets in the autumn when it is too wet, to wait for better weather."
