Open and honest communication, that’s what it’s all about when you market potatoes CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY ed, washed and inspected. This involved125 hectares in total. The washing part suits us very well, because if we don’t wash, we’ll have problems selling the black potatoes that we harvest here in a surplus year, in spite of the fact that they are of the same quality as clay-soil potatoes. Also, there’s always water damage somewhere in the variegated and undulating plots, with all the attendant consequences for the quality of the tuber. Because the potatoes are black due to the layer of sandy-peat soil, they can’t be inspected when they’re unwashed. So, we bought a Tummers industrial stone and clod remover with a washing system last year. What I like about this machine is that we’ve already washed 60,000 tons of potatoes and we’ve never had any problems.’ Openness and trust ‘In 2003, with a group of in total five quality-conscious growers, we approached three French-fry industries in order to add value through collaboration. We’re talking a potato acreage of over 1,000 hectares. We did this to become an interesting market player. We ultimately decided on Lamb Weston Meijer. This means that, from mid August to mid March, the five of us now deliver fifty percent of the required potatoes to the factory in CLOSED FARMING The combination of potato growing, the digester and the poultry-growing division makes Agro Giethoorn a real mixed farm. ‘The table chickens at the farm, which Winter also calls “sustainably-fattened chickens”, are fed with our own cereals supplemented with Agrifirm wheat. The digester runs on our own chicken manure, cattle manure from surrounding farms and other co-products. For the ever-increasing cattle farms in the Giethoorn polder, we’re a good spot for getting rid of the manure. We’re even one of the recognised processors in the Netherlands. After digestion, we separate the manure into solid and fluid components. We export the solid component. The fluid component is a suitable manure for our own farm,’ emphasises Winter. Oosterbierum. Working together is still going really well for us. Without mentioning prices, I can say that, thanks to our innovative contract form, our crops here are financially sound. In the first years, we were still talking about ‘we’ and ‘they’, but now it’s more about ‘collaboration’. I like the openness towards the grower and the confidence that Lamb Weston Meijer radiates. That’s going to be a winner for them, I think. On the other hand, we’re also thinking along with the Frenchfry industry. It already starts during the growing season. In order to give our customers a good idea of the product, we take samples every ten days, so that they know what to expect. In addition, we also think about the cultivation of specific varieties, because each buyer of French fries asks for certain specifications. Its then up to us to see how we can oblige. Our aim is to optimise the chain. Steady acreage ‘When I look to the future, I don’t expect our company to increase in potato acreage for the time being. I think that we’ve reached our limit when I look at our use of the lifter, the loading and unloading line and storage. I don’t believe in growth for growth’ sake. If we’re going to grow, the availability of land in our area would go down, which will push up the already steep rent even further. Work satisfaction, which we think is important on our farm, will also suffer from extra acreage. In fact, for two years we cultivated more than 300 hectares, but I noticed that, when the market is good, you don’t need those extra 50 hectares. And when the market is weak, you don’t need them at all. The cost price per hectare is over 6,000 euros ex land. I don’t believe it’s good to grow just about everything on our type of farm. This means that collaboration and proper market planning are a necessity.’ ● Jaap Delleman From 2003 onwards, Agro Giethoorn has delivered all its potatoes graded, washed and inspected. Potato World 2014 • number 1 15 Pagina 14
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