The best helmsmen are ashore

Tjeerd de Groot (D66) discussed the drought in agriculture on 1 August on BNR Nieuwsradio. My salvation, because Mr. De Groot (after months of drought and a precipitation deficit of more than 260 millimeters) finally provided me with information about what we as farmers 'should' do about the drought.

Author: Iris Bouwers, Vice-President CEJA (European Council for Young Farmers)

For example, he said that in the Netherlands we need to rethink how we produce food. "Farmers also have to look at what the markets are doing and they have to think fundamentally about methods that are climate-proof." Dear Tjeerd, I can't do anything with that. Nothing. You rejected the short-term solutions that LTO Netherlands came up with. But for me, as a young farmer in 2018, there is no alternative.

Not a good year
Today (August 2) we are irrigating exactly 55 days in a row: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and mainly on (seed) potatoes, valerian and onions. It won't be a good year anymore, it doesn't have to be. I choose this life. I opt for the freedom of entrepreneurship and for peaks and troughs in my income. Hopefully we can make up for it somewhat next year, or in 2020. This is not a lament, but the reality. 

I really want to look at how we produce food in the Netherlands. We are participating in Skylark, trying to make cultivation more sustainable together. We invest in the soil, which has traditionally been poor in our area. We supply compost, organic manure, chop straw on the land, grow extra grains, invest in drainage, grow green manures and catch crops, just to make the soil resilient.

We have a mixed business; in addition to the arable branch we have pigs (with a better life star of the Animal Protection). We drive the pig manure over our own land and if I could calculate it financially (we have few pigs) I would like to grow grains that our pigs can eat. We have been trying to work as circularly as possible for years.

What are the markets doing?
I also want to see what the markets are going to do. But it is of little use to us; we mostly grow on contract. Since the price of piglets, finishers and feed fluctuates, it is nice to have a number of fixed components in the income. The existing contracts have fixed prices and/or quantities. If we are unable to deliver, we will default and pay a fine.

We expect to benefit to a very limited extent from upturns in the markets. The fines are probably higher than the extra revenues. The tons are simply disappointing. A potato hardly grows above 25 degrees Celsius. The foliage burns on several plants. The millimeters that fall, naturally or via irrigation, are evaporated again due to the high temperatures.

Working in an environmentally friendly way?
I also like to think about methods that are climate-proof. We have gone from a traditional peat-colonial farming plan with 3 crops to a farming plan with 6 crops. We do this (again) for the soil, but of course also to spread the risk; with climate change, changing and more extreme weather conditions occur.

We irrigate electrically, which is a lot more sustainable than with a diesel pump. We sow flower borders to attract (beneficial) insects and to promote biodiversity in our beautiful area. As a young farmer I realize very well that I am dependent now and in the future on what the soil and its environment can give me.

am i lucky?
When I speak to farmers elsewhere in the country, I realize that we are lucky. With the electric pump and with the available water. Others have to deal with an irrigation ban, too salty water or have no well or reel. As an arable farmer you sort for drought (when possible), as a livestock farmer you sometimes have even fewer options. Many understandably have deep concerns about forage yields and levels.

I appreciate the call from LTO Netherlands. Let's see what the options are, for example around the insurance tax of the Broad Weather Insurance or other options to give affected farmers breathing space. The drought is force of the majority, so short-term solutions are needed. Technical measures and flexibility in regulations, precisely to be able to become circular one day. I can't deal with people who tell me from The Hague that I have to think 'fundamentally'.

Tjeerd, please don't tell me how to burp.

Boerenbusiness

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