Rainy spring causes many problems for Dutch and Belgian potato growers

Due to the spring, Belgian potatoes, onions and other vegetables are not planted in time in the soggy soil, which threatens a yield loss of 15 percent, writes De Standaard. "A month too late is a loss of yield of about 15 percent," said Marianne Streel, chairman of the Walloon Federation of Agriculture. Something that Sofie Scherpereel, independent agricultural expert, agrees with. "It is the same everywhere: in Wallonia, Flanders, France, the Netherlands. Last year it was dry from March 1, now it is exactly the opposite." In the Netherlands, too, the rainy spring is causing concern for arable farmers. In Muntendam, Groningen, grower Peter Harry Mulder is forced to transplant part of his potato acreage, writes Nieuwe Oogst. Two heavy rain showers on 5 and 6 May flattened the ridges and rotted ...