At Agra Claessens, all the new potatoes are now out of the ground. "The soil here is quite heavy clay, and it was actually too dry to start, but with the rain at the beginning of September, we had the ideal time to harvest. We then brought everything in within a few days, just in time before the weather could turn," says Stijn Windey of the company from Flemish Hamme.
"About the harvest, we are very satisfied," continues Stijn, who started in 2005 when the neighbour's land came up for sale. First with ornamental cultivation and early potatoes in the greenhouses, but eventually expanding to outdoor potato cultivation. "We were able to irrigate all the plots, and that is really necessary in such a dry summer. That paid off: the yield is very good this year. We hardly had any diseases and were able to water perfectly at the right times. For potatoes, those are ideal conditions."
In this market, relationships are important
With such a harvest, you would expect nothing but positivity, but is a good yield really an advantage in this Belgian potato market, which is currently "on hiatus"? Especially for a company like Agra Claessens, which sells everything in-house to wholesalers, retailers, speciality shops, and through its own farm shop, making them less dependent on contracts. Contracts, which are precisely what are considered so valuable in this market. "Still, for us, sales cannot be called problematic. Of course, it's always nice when prices are okay, but we have regular customers and supply several markets. These are still taking off fine. There is some pressure on the wholesalers, because colleagues there can get rid of their potatoes faster in crates, but we notice that mainly through the traders, and not directly."
"We may work without real contracts, but over the years, you naturally build relationships with customers who trust the quality you deliver. Especially towards retail, things do go well, and prices there remain stable. In the supermarket, you see little of the lower market prices; consumers are still paying the same. For the time being, therefore, we see the coming period positively. We know there will be some surpluses, but that's part of it. Last year's harvest was disappointing, but now that has straightened out a bit. The potato market is always somewhat unpredictable, we know that by now," he puts the situation in perspective.
What may also help here is that Bintjes is still the main variety at Agra Claessens, while it is disappearing more and more among many colleagues. "We do notice that cultivation is declining a bit every year, which is certainly not a disadvantage for us, as demand remains stable. Even colleagues who grew only Bintjes for years are now trying other varieties. This is because the yield of Bintjes is lower than some of the more modern varieties. If you can't irrigate properly, you quickly get blemishes or quality problems. Fortunately, that was not the case with us this year. On the contrary, it was an excellent year in that respect. Beautiful, healthy Bintje varieties, and demand remains good. The taste of a Bintje from clay soil simply remains unsurpassed. And fortunately, many still agree with me."
Angelica
Meanwhile, the company is still looking at potential intermediate crops. "For instance, we experimented with sunflowers. We wanted to try to press sunflower seeds ourselves, but it was a bit disappointing because of the huge pressure from wood pigeons. We even had to sow twice and covered with nets the second time. In the end, they came up nicely, but even before ripening, half had been eaten. So that idea is going into the closet for now."
"What we are developing further is the cultivation of angelica. That remains interesting for us, and we have increased the acreage to one and a half hectares this year. The plants are looking good, and it seems to be going well. Sales do depend on one buyer, which, of course, remains a risk. But for now, the cooperation is excellent, and we hear that they are still looking for growers in Flanders, so that is positive."
For more information:
Stijn Windey
Agra Claessens
Bootdijkstraat 23A
9220 Moerzeke, Belgium
Tel: +32 472 47 51 38
[email protected]
www.agraclaessens.be
