News September 2010
Harvest 2010
The weather has an immense influence on our potatoes!
Spring came late this year. The soil was fine thanks to its good structure, but the potatoes were planted relatively late. The low temperatures meant that growth got off to a slow start. Next came a hot, dry period. During this period selection was not always easy. We generally saw good tuber formation and a little more scab than normal. The yields varied widely between varieties, regions and growers. On average the final yield was lower than the average expected forecast.
During the harvest period the weather once again played a great role. Simply the fact that we are still seeing so many lifting machines active harvesting seed potatoes in the third week of September says enough! The weather in the Netherlands has been changeable for weeks now. Lifting is being done in stages and with difficulty. Driving around on 23 September, we saw a number of growers were still hard at work. Lifting seems to be progressing well, but a day later everything has ground to a halt again. The culprits are once again some showers.
It's not just the harvest, the market is also responding to the rain. The futures market and prices for potatoes on the free market are currently good. But to be able to sell, it's important that you can supply the goods. So these potatoes will have to be lifted. But unfortunately it is precisely the harvest that is causing the trouble…
Jurgen and Willem
 
 
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