First field beans have been harvested, yield good

The first field of field beans has been harvested in the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour. The yield of the winter field beans on the plot in Strijen in South Holland can certainly be called good. The harvest for the other fields with field beans is also planned soon.

Last Thursday, August 4, the time had come: the first winter field beans were harvested at dairy farmer Sander Vijverberg. "We were able to harvest the seven-hectare plot under good conditions." This is the second year that Vijverberg grows winter field beans. The winter and summer field beans are grown as a concentrate substitute for cattle, because of the high protein percentage, which is between 25% and 32%.

Great yield
The right harvesting moment is very important in order not to cause a loss and according to Vijverberg, that has been achieved "The harvesting moment was good. We had adjusted the combine well and suffered very little loss". He is certainly satisfied with the yield, because the yield potential of winter field beans is between 5,5 and 8 tons per hectare. "The yield per hectare was definitively 7.850 kilos per hectare, a good result". 

Due to the right harvesting moment and the adjustment of the combine, there is hardly any loss.

The winter field beans were unloaded in a tipper, after which they were filled into a closed box via a small conveyor belt.

The combine in the winter field beans.

Summer field beans on the schedule
The winter crop is slightly earlier than summer field beans, but the summer variety is also almost ready for harvest at Vijverberg and is scheduled to be threshed. He has 4,5 hectares of summer field beans and saw the crop make a big final sprint: "Recently I thought the crop would hold up for a while, but the summer field beans ripen quickly. As of today (Tuesday 8 August), the combine will go to the He is less pleased with the yield of summer field beans. Vijverberg calls the ongoing drought the biggest cause. "I think it will stop at 5 tons, but we will see." The yield of summer field beans is in any case slightly lower than winter field beans.

The other dairy farmer at the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour with summer field beans is dairy farmer Robert Welhuis in Wapse (Drenthe). In contrast to the Vijverberg plot that is ready to harvest, this plot is not yet on the planning for harvesting. According to Welhuis, the top pods are still green, but with the current weather forecast, the ripening can go fast."

Jesse Torringa

Jesse is an editor at Boerenbusiness and focuses in particular on the arable farming sector, including grain and onions. He also closely follows the fertilizer market. In addition, Jesse works on an arable farm in Groningen with seed potatoes as the main branch.

j.torringa@boerenbusiness. Nl

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