After the wettest April and May on record, the meteorological season begins again with rain. In our province this does not cause any problems for farmers. Most crops have been planted, but for a few farmers, not all of the potatoes are in the ground yet.
Dirk Jan Bühling from Eerste Exloërmond is from the LTO's arable farming department and uses these wet days to spray his crops against diseases. According to him, the consequences of the rain are not so bad in Drenthe.
“The picture is variable, but on average we can't complain. Especially considering the situation in other parts of the country. Our colleagues in Zealand, Overijssel, Brabant and North Holland are suffering much more,” says Poling.
Lots of rain has good sides too. “What's in the ground is growing well,” Bowling says. “The ranchers have already been able to mow the grass twice. The manure is back in the ground, and with the rain, everything is growing like crazy.”
Jan Albert Daling from Smiled is one of the farmers who still doesn't have all the potatoes in the ground. “I wanted to plant the last potatoes today, but the weather is not cooperating. This makes the growing season shorter. But I put the vital seed potatoes in the ground for frying, so their yield is sure to remain average.”
He's not the only one around. “There are other colleagues who still have a few days of work to get the potatoes into the ground. This is no different. You have to accept that. We can fertilize and spray the crops that are already in the ground. But the disadvantage of planting late means that everything will be mixed up, and this represents Challenging and sometimes means short nights.”
Wet weather increases the risk of fungi such as Phytophthora potato blight. “There were a few fungal variants added last year that were more aggressive. There's also a lot of foliage growth, which means we have to spray more frequently to protect the crops,” Beuling explains.
Challenges are part of farmer life, Beuling says. “This is our mission. Last year we had problems with irrigation systems and the weather was dry. Irrigation is not necessary now and this saves time and money.”
Daling also expects potatoes to do well.
