Almost 20 years ago, in 1999, the first International Cabbage Congress took place in West Flanders. This tradition of cauliflower growers and by extension all cabbage growers to meet each other, past the borders of production regions and even countries, is still important. These meetings provide a renewed insight into the production conditions, mechanisation and spreading the cultivation in Europe. Besides this, the international contributions of stakeholders allow for the sharing of knowledge and market insights. On September 4 and 5,2018, LAVA, Inagro, Boerenbond, PSKW, Ingro, PCG, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and TACO invited all stakeholders and cabbage growers to their cabbage congress: "Cabbage, a cultivation with a future."
The organisers are proud to welcome the European cabbage world to West Flanders on September 4 and 5. The two day congress focuses on research, production, innovation and marketing of brassica and is focused on cabbage growers and experts in the area of cabbages in science, marketing, retail and growers unions. The goal is to exchange the latest information surrounding brassica (research, cultivation and commercialisation). As well as this, they are informed of the latest trends regarding cabbage.
Cabbage congress programme
The academic sessions on September 4 will take place in the Provinciehuis 'Boeverbos' in Bruges. During a number of sessions the current cultivation of cabbage will be highlighted. The second congress day, Wednesday September 5, consists of guided visits to various West Flanders cabbage companies, alternated with a visit to the testing centre of Inagro in Beitem and vegetable processing company Greenyard Frozen. During the visits there will be the opportunity to see the company and view cultivation specific automation and mechanisation processes.
Challenging themes addressed during two day congress
The year of 2017 is burned into our memory as the year in which it didn't rain in (West-) Flanders. The extremely long drought meant that producers spent long nights trying to save their cultivations through irrigation. Once again this year we're being confronted with a long period without rain, which means extra work on the fields for many growers.
The future of the open air horticulture companies in Flanders largely depends on the evolution of fertiliser legislation. Fertilising and availability of quality water for irrigation are essential for horticulture focused on the European market. As the agricultural sector as a whole we have to dare think along to reach a wider spacial planning. Waiting basins of water available for agriculture in dry periods and then using the same basins as buffer basins to temporarily store nitrate rich water and naturally denitrifying it can be tough. It is also important to have enough qualified staff to face the scaling up of horticultural companies. Finally, we have to invest in innovative techniques such as precision agriculture and the use of drones in cabbage crops in order to safeguard the future of our young agriculturalists. Smartfarming techniques will also be demonstrated and highlighted during the company visits.
During the second day of the congress they will visit various West-Flemish production companies. One of those is Ronny and An Debuf-Vancoillie's company in Passendale. At the moment the harvest of the first fruiting of the cauliflowers is taking place. On September 5 the participants will have the opportunity to see the Brussels sprout harvesting machine, the optical sorter and the fully automatic planter at work at the company, among others.
Practical congress information
Signing up beforehand is necessary and this can be done up until the 15th of August.
Tuesday September 4: academic sessions - Provinciehuis Boeverbos, Bruges
- Participation in the first day of congress is 120 Euro.
- Participation in the congress dinner (19.00 hours at Hotel Weinebrugge) is 90 Euro.
- Participation in the company visits is 40 Euro.
- Please provide your preference for company visits: fresh market or industry. We try to adhere to this as much as possible.
General sign up at www.brassica2018.be.
Click here for the full programme
Click here for the programme booklet