Successful storage begins in the field CU LTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY To further improve the structure, we loosen the soil after the crop has been harvested and, if possible, immediately sow a green manure crop’, says Benoît Delcourt. Caring for the crop during the season is done entirely in-house with modern machinery. organic content of the soil and improve the structure. But also to combat erosion in the hilly area. Cooperation with contractor In the storehouse, you can read from the indicator line when a new plot has been stored. The region has mainly sandy loam soils. The first unit has mainly potatoes from loam soils and the second one has potatoes from the more sandy soil. Delcourt works closely together with a local contractor for the field work. This contractor plants all the potatoes and takes care of the harvest. The potato planting is done in one work passage and between the ridges Delcourt makes holes with a dam former to retain water and reduce the risk of erosion. ‘The contractor has invested in a four-row selfprOpelled harvester. After much calculation, this option gave the best outcome. In addition, the contractor also has other harvesting machines, so that we can harvest quickly if necessary. The harvesting costs are just over 400 euros per hectare. This price is similar to what we’d pay if we were to invest in a harvester ourselves’, Delcourt explains. Caring for the crop during the season is done entirely in-house. Delcourt, together with its permanent agronomist, Matthieu, operates two sprayers, one self-prOpelled and one trailed machine. These modern machines are necessary because Delcourt Agri also does contract work such as fertilisation, crop protection, land preparation and sowing operations for growers in the area. Thanks to his agricultural training, Matthieu himself is also very busy with taking samples to monitor the various crops. ‘To do this, we’ve set up a small laboratory in the first unit with an underwater scale, a salt bath and a grading line. Here we can analyse both our home-grown and purchased potatoes, so that we always know the quality of the potatoes we store. Mapping all plots Before cultivation starts, a soil sample is taken from every field where potatoes are planted. From this sample, Delcourt arranges for the amount of N, P and K to be determined. He also maps out the plots with GPS. Since many of the plots are not straight, he purchased a fertiliser spreader with section control this year. This machine can spread 24 to 39 metres wide and can also work site specific, based on the spreading chart. He applies the nitrogen in a divided dose, three quarters at the roots and the remainder during the season. Setting up your own seed potato cultivation Looking to the future, the Delcourt family is thinking about growing their own farm seed. ‘The advantage of growing your own seed is that you have everything under your own control and you know what quality you get. It is also economically interesting, provided we can grow good quality seed. Due to the changing climate, growing onions without irrigation is a major risk in this area. Potatoes are possible, provided you look after the soil properly’, explains the Walloon entrepreneur. Delcourt believes that it is becoming increasingly important for a farmer to present himself as an entrepreneur. Innovation is part of this. ‘It’s an important way to further optimise cultivation. Developments such as GPS and precision farming help with this and the robotisation of potato cultivation is on its way. Achieving a maximum yield is important. If we want to feed the expected 10 billion people in 2050, then we can’t achieve that with organic farming. The yield with that method of growing potatoes, will stay at 20 to 30 tons, while we have to harvest at least 50 tons. Of course we must make cultivation greener and protect the environment. But there has to be a realistic price for this. Especially in view of the ever-increasing costs of cultivation such as land tenure that’s currently at around 1,500 euros per hectare, fuels, electricity, fertilisation and storage’, says Delcourt. ● Jaap Delleman Potato World 2019 • number 4 39 Pagina 38
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