CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Stammen’s quality table potatoes all year round Together with his son Christoph (25), Heinz Stammen (60) grows 170 hectares of table potatoes in the German town of Geldern in Niederrein (Germany). They start each new growing season with early potatoes under plastic. The yield of the later main harvest is put into storage until the end of May. To improve storage, the business invested in a new storage facility with a pressurised suction system for ventilation in 2010, which has a capacity of 3,000 tons of potatoes. In addition, they had a storehouse constructed for the storage of 3,500 tons of bulk with above-ground ventilation, which increased the total storage capacity of the business to over 10,000 tons. ‘As a result of this investment, we can market good quality table potatoes throughout the year’, Stammen told us. et’s go and have a look, the resolute potato grower suggests. In long, steady strides, he hurries to the storehouse, meanwhile enthusiastically explaining the why and how of the new investment. From a distance, we can hear the fans gently humming; it seems that things are well insulated. As soon as Stammen opens the door to the ventilation chamber, the lights inside switch on L and immediately the noise of the fans also stops. ‘All automatic, all security measures’, laughs the potato entrepreneur. He then rushes up the stairs to the platform railing, from where he has an overall view of the storehouse. Standing about eight metres above the ground, potato grower Stammen looks out over his table potatoes with great satisfaction. Potato World 2012 • number 1 23 Pagina 22
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