Summer field bean option to save on protein purchase

Dairy farmers are looking for alternatives to save some money on the high costs for concentrates. Field beans have recently been in the spotlight for adding protein to the ration at a lower cost. Also participants in the Boerenbusiness This year's roughage tour is going to grow field beans. So is dairy farmer Robert Welhuis from Wapse in Drenthe. He sowed summer field beans last week. A video impression. 

Welhuis, who is making his debut at the Roughage Tour this year, adjusted his cultivation plan last winter due to the persistently high concentrate prices. The Drenthe dairy farmer has been growing fodder beets for a long time and does not participate in the derogation. This also allows him to maintain a higher proportion of maize in his cultivation plan. In 2021 Welhuis obtained roughage from 67 hectares of grass, 30 hectares of maize and 5 hectares of fodder beet. This year, 8 hectares of field beans will be added. "The intention was to sow 4 hectares first, partly due to the greening requirements that apply from the CAP. But due to the high concentrate prices, it will be 7,75 hectares and we will grow slightly less maize this year. This way we can save on the purchase of protein." 

Summer field beans are better suited to sandy soils
Welhuis chooses to grow summer field beans instead of winter field beans. This was on the advice of Ludwig Oevermars, forage specialist at Limagrain. "Summer field beans are better suited to lighter sandy soils. This is because the risk of waterlogging and wintering is lower. Also, the weed pressure is less when sowing summer field beans, because a soil herbicide can then be used. This is sprayed after sowing and before sowing." the emergence of the beans," explains Oevermars. "Winter field beans also use a soil herbicide, but it stops working when spring starts." Winter field beans show up better on heavier soils, because the land is often not accessible early enough in the spring. Winter field beans yield on average about one ton per hectare more than the summer variety, Oevermars outlines. Summer field beans yield between 6 to 7 tons, while the yield potential of winter field beans is 8 to 9 tons.

Welhuis wants to combine the beans: "I expect the beans to be ripe at the end of August. I prefer to feed the beans in the robot as a replacement for the chunks. The beans contain both starch and protein. I can use the milking robot specifically for beans. feed it to the cows that need it. I also expect the pull on the robot to improve, because the cows find the beans tasty." Welhuis already fed some purchased beans last summer to gauge the reaction of the cows. "It was a bit disappointing at the time, but this was partly because the cows lacked the fast protein due to the quality of the silage. So we will mainly look at the quality of the grass harvested in the coming season to determine exactly how we are going to use the beans. ."

Moment of sowing
The beans were sown on Thursday 17 March (video). For tillage, Welhuis first covered the green manure and weeds with a Väderstad Carrier disc harrow with CrossCutter discs from the local tool association. Subsequently, approximately 10 tons of solid manure and 25 cubic meters of slurry were applied for fertilization. The plot was then pulled loose with the fixed tine cultivator. Full-field sowing was done by contractor Joldersma from Smilde with an Imants spading machine and Kuhn pneumatic seeder. The variety is LG Cartouche from Limagrain. The row distance between the beans is 12,5 cm and 230 kg per hectare is sown. 

The field beans are not only sown at Welhuis. The summer field beans are also in the ground at Roughage Tour participant Sander Vijverberg from Strijen (ZH). He already reported on Thursday, March 10: "Preparing another five hectares here to sow field beans this afternoon. This was not the intention at first, but I was able to rent another four hectares of land for maize cultivation in November. This increased the total acreage. maize came out on 24 hectares. Due to the high prices and because I like it very much, I decided to sow another five hectares of summer field beans in addition to the seven hectares of winter field beans that I already have. The maize acreage will be back to 19 hectares, just like any other year."