CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY I Open and honest communication, that’s what it’s all about when you market potatoes n the polder of Giethoorn, Agro Giethoorn grows between 280 and 300 hectares of potatoes annually on variegated sandy soil, which ranges from pure sand to loamy or peaty sands. Winter and Cordes store around 8000 tons in their own storehouses, the remainder is stored elsewhere. The growing season for potatoes starts after spring ploughing, usually between 1 and 10 April. Planting ends around 10 May. ‘In most sandy plots, independent nematodes may pose a problem. There is less damage, however, if we build up the ridges in two stages. Nematodes apparently don’t like the soil being messed about,’ is Winter’s experience. From 10 August onward, the farmers start lifting the potatoes. The company starts harvesting with the Lady Rosetta, a crisps variety. From 20 August onwards, the Zorba follows, which is a French-fry variety. In September and October, they lift the Innovator, Fontane and the VR808. Half the harvest is delivered straight from the land. The other half is stored until 1 April. ‘Long before lifting, the storage potatoes that are only delivered after February are treated with the Royal MH sprout inhibitor, because we don’t want to fumigate our potatoes. To keep the costs down, we only use this product on the longeststored lots,’ Winter explains. Wash everything The division of duties on the farm is clear. With four employees, Sander Cordes is responsible for the cultivation of the 500-hectare arable farm, 150 hectares of which are his property. In addition to potatoes, Agro Giethoorn predominantly grows maize and also some cereals and sugar beet. Pieter Winter is the strategist of the two and he is responsible for the planning and the marketing. In addition to potatoes, Agro Giethoorn also has 170,000 table chickens and a 2 megawatt biodigester. Winter is of the opinion that mixed farming has future prospects. ‘Each division of our company - in which we turn over almost 10 million euros - is estimated to be equally strong. If one of the divisions is less profitable in a year, the others can counterbalance that loss. If a large proportion of the potatoes can’t be lifted on a traditional crop farm, the financial setback is enormous. We think that we’re able to deal better with such situations. Also, 75 percent of our potatoes are sold via contracts and 25 percent on the free market. That’s also a form of risk-spreading. I think it important, too, to make proper arrangements with the buyers. For example, in 2003, together with four growers in the Northeast Polder, we drew up a contract with Lays to deliver all our potatoes from then on, gradBecause the potatoes are black as a result of the layer of sandy-peat soil, they can’t be inspected when they are unwashed. Agro Giethoorn has already washed 60,000 tons of potatoes and never had any problems. 14 Potato World 2014 • number 1 Pagina 13
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