Netherlands: Soggy fields, many harvests left behind

Cosun reports that the harvest has progressed furthest on clay soils, while the most can still be harvested on sandy and valley soils. Avebe says that 3 to 5% of starch potatoes are still in the ground. Late potatoes, seed potatoes and carrots The late potato varieties and seed potatoes in particular have not yet been harvested, according to Teun de Jong of the Dutch Arable Farming Union. “The later-maturing potato varieties withstood the drought in June well. Now it is precisely the potatoes that cause the biggest harvest problems.” He knows from members in Zeeland and South Holland that some still have 20% of the crop left. Higher plots have been cleared, but the lower plots are wetter, causing the machines to sink. The seed potatoes that he still sees at his neighbors in Friesland will no longer be usable after the next good night frost. According to De Jong, a third of the carrot harvest has already been lost due to the wet autumn and the short frost at the beginning of ...