High water damage is exceptional in the Netherlands

Thousands of hectares of agricultural land in the Brabant and Gelderland floodplains were flooded last week when the Meuse could no longer drain the much water from Limburg. Many hectares are considered lost on the fertile clay soils. Based on the number of reports, this concerns 350 hectares of (seed) potatoes, 400 hectares of grassland and hayland, 400 hectares of maize, almost 100 hectares of sugar beet, 65 hectares of wheat and many dozens of hectares of other crops. 'As ZLTO we argue for a generous definition of the disaster area, because farmers in Brabant, Gelderland and Limburg have been affected,' says ZLTO director Kathleen Goense. “This is a disaster of unprecedented magnitude. Because it affects hundreds of farmers and gardeners and tens of thousands of hectares, in the middle of the growing season. The damage amounts to millions of euros based on what has been reported to us.' That amount is likely to rise. The damage to two arable farmers in Groeningen and Escharen ...