The winter vegetable season is now in its second half. Overall, the 2025/2026 growing year presents a mixed picture, as vegetable producer Florian Jochims from Elpersbüttel tells us. While good results were achieved in the cultivation and distribution of beetroot in particular, yields for turnips have been quite disappointing for the second year in a row, he summarizes on request.
© Küsten Bete GmbH
With Küsten Bete GmbH, Jochims has been dedicated to the production and further processing of beetroot for several years (FreshPlaza reported). The root vegetables are peeled, cooked, vacuum-packed, and then packaged in small 500-gram portions for the German food retail trade. "We have increased our cultivation capacity by around ten hectares compared to last year. Despite good harvest results overall, supply is expected to become scarce again towards the end of the season, so we had to resort to additional imports at Christmas." Nevertheless, Jochims now expects to be able to deliver until the end of June or until the start of the new harvest.
© Küsten Bete GmbHThe current price structure for beetroot is adequate for producers.
According to Jochims, a gradual upward trend is emerging in the long term. The shelf life of the vacuum-packed product allows the company a certain degree of flexibility in terms of marketing, says Jochims. "In this respect, we have found beetroot to be a consistent, stable, and extremely predictable product line. It is also noticeable that we have now created a certain degree of brand recognition among consumers with our regional product. We expect this growth to continue in the coming years."
© Küsten Bete GmbH
Insight into the root vegetable harvest
Unlike the majority of his colleagues in the cabbage stronghold of Dithmarschen, Jochims has specialized entirely in root vegetables. He explains that this year's yields for celeriac were fairly average. "We were able to harvest the first early crops at the end of August/beginning of September, which meant that the harvest started a little later than usual. As a result, we had a gap in marketing of around 4–5 weeks." He considers celery sales to date to be reasonable. "However, the price level is somewhat subdued and is around EUR 0.10/kg below last year's level." In the long term, cultivation capacities for celeriac will be slightly expanded.
© Küsten Bete GmbHThe poor turnip yields have led to a correspondingly high price level, according to Jochims.
Weak turnip year
Lastly, Jochims has been one of Germany's largest turnip producers for many years. The root vegetable continues to be grown on around 50 hectares. "Unfortunately, we have had to accept considerable losses again this year due to disease, similar to last year. This is mainly due to the wet summer: even though we know what the cause is, our countermeasures have only been partially effective," says Jochims. Even the new varieties that have been introduced to the market in recent years have not yielded the desired results.
In addition to their own turnips, Jochims offers turnips from Scotland during this season. "We expect our stocks to be cleared by the beginning of February at the latest. Normally, however, we can easily serve our customers until the end of February/beginning of March," he concluded.
For more information:
Florian Jochims
Küsten Bete GmbH
Hohe Str. 1
25704 Elpersbüttel
Tel: +49 4832 2287
[email protected]
www.kuestengemuese.de
