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Opinions Niels van der Boom

Leasing land based on a good story

5 April 2021 - Niels van der Boom

Something curious is visible in the land market. Only the highest bid or the best bank guarantee is no longer relevant when leased land is issued. A good story, land owners are sensitive to that. Chats may not fill the gaps, but they will fill the land portfolio.

We can now compare Dutch agriculture with football. As soon as our national team plays a game, 17 million national coaches are present to explain in detail how we should have won. I also get that feeling in farming. The soil in particular is a favorite subject of these self-proclaimed national coaches. Because the bottom is bad. bad ass. It's a miracle that anything grows at all. At least, that's what the national coaches try to tell everyone.

Farming experience is not enough
Fortunately, landowners are increasingly willing to lend a hand to their 'exhausted' land. For example, more and more provinces and NGOs are putting an end to the use of glyphosate. An orange-colored green manure, that can't be good, can it? But that is not enough. There must be a cycle of farming, bees must be saved, healthy food produced and everything nature-inclusive. A few decades of farming experience isn't good enough anymore. There has to be a good story.

Simply registering for leased land and hoping for the highest bid is no longer enough. With this way of working, the owners have now realized that all non-essential matters, such as saving bees, caring for soil life and closing cycles, are the first to be thrown overboard. There are strict requirements, but in practice it is difficult to measure and therefore manageable. Hence the good story.

bingo card
Those who want to qualify must first go to the drawing board. With the bingo card in hand - with words such as recycling, regenerative, strip cultivation, educational, recreation, nature inclusive and more - a plan must be drawn up. Not a sober building plan, but a mix of flower borders, bicycle paths and educational spots. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but what's the point of this for the tenant? Isn't it up to the landlord to pick up that glove? If desired, in collaboration with the administrator.

In my view, there is a danger in this method. It means the best story wins, not the best craftsman. The best craftsmen I know are usually not talkatives. Far from. They should hire a hip chatterbox agency for the story. And that is precisely what craftsmen often have a brother dying from. They don't like the finery, not to mention the fees. An alternative is to apply for a subsidy, but is that the solution? I do not think so. What happened to taking good care of your soil, earning a fair living and passing it on to the next generation. That's how we've always done it.

Not in the farmer's chair
Let the farmer be a farmer. Great if you want to experiment with strip farming, sow flower borders or collaborate with colleagues. I welcome it. But as a lessor, don't sit in the farmer's chair and determine what the method should be. Moreover, this is often based on emotion and not on facts. The danger is that cultivation systems are presented as if they are the solution for everything. Professionals know better.

Is it all negative then? A good plan is also an opportunity. An opportunity for starting entrepreneurs who see opportunities and want to create something. They are innovative and benevolent, but can they beat the colleague who buys the best story? A tricky game with dangerous sides. Therefore let the farmer be the farmer. Count him on his craftsmanship and all extras are tailor-made. Cycle, nature-inclusive and future-oriented. Agriculture has always been that way. Professionals know that.

Niels van der Boom

Niels van der Boom is a senior market specialist for arable crops at DCA Market Intelligence. He mainly makes analyses and market updates about the potato market. In columns he shares his sharp view on the arable sector and technology.

Opinions Niels van der Boom

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