Belgium: The comeback of the fodder beet

In the Netherlands, the area of fodder beet increased by 500 hectares to approximately 3,000 hectares in the past year. Fun historical fact: in the 1940s, the acreage was 44,000 hectares. In Belgium, the acreage is considerably higher at almost 20,000 hectares. It is therefore not surprising that the Belgian ILVO is involved in this cultivation and has already acquired a lot of knowledge about this. View the recommended varieties of fodder beet for the Netherlands here. He is clear about it, the fodder beet fits well into the ration. "In terms of VEM and DVE, fodder beet surpass the maize and grass silage. It is 10 percent more protein than maize silage." Studies by the institute also show that the total roughage intake is increased with the addition of fodder beets to the ration. With the addition of 3.5 kg DM from fodder beet (23 kg with 15% DM), slightly less grass and maize silage was taken up, but a total of 0.5 kg DM more of the roughage ration was taken up. This provides ...