Belgian grower Pieter Vandooren started harvesting his new organic leek crop a few weeks ago. He says the season looks promising. "Demand's been good so far, but it was last year around this time, too. More people begin with organic leeks in early October, so we'll have to wait and see how the market develops," he begins.
Pieter has been farming for 15 years, taking over from his parents. Seven years ago, he decided to switch to organic, and his acreage now consists of about 45 hectares. "We grow cauliflower for the frozen food industry, celeriac for the industry and partly the fresh market, and fennel bulbs and leeks for the fresh market. We also have some ginger, melons, and mini-vegetables. However, those are purely hobby activities, although the melons grew very well last season. We'll scale that up next year."
The new leek season - which the experienced grower is optimistic about - has begun, and the company sells these via REO Veiling and BioVibe. "The quality's great. The conventional segment had some problems, but remarkably, the organic segment had few disease issues. Thrips aren't that bad; sometimes, in drier years, it's harder because you have no treatment, but this year's not terrible, and yields are good. Of course, we'll have to wait and see. It was awful last year, but seems to now be recovering somewhat," says Pieter.
The worse also seems to now have passed, sales-wise, he adds. "I'm friends with an organic pig farmer, and there it remains dramatic. Those sales are down by about 40%, but in vegetables, the upward trend's restarted. The retailers we supply are seeing sales rise again. We have to stay positive. We have a one-year retail contract and do day sales through BioVibe; we like that combination."
Also, it seems there are opportunities due to a lesser French harvest. "Last year, prices dropped considerably because of pressure from the French product. However, we hear quite a few French growers have switched back to conventional," Pieter explains, "so fewer French organic leeks will be available. That, obviously, benefits us. The Netherlands is less affected, but our area looks to France as soon as more leeks are available there."
Pest control remains a thorny issue for this grower, too. "Those are a constant plague for which we must be continually alert. You have to be on your toes from June to August. It sometimes hits you from one day to another; you can lose much of your crop overnight. Nonetheless, things generally look good. The crop looks good; now demand must just follow," Pieter concludes.
For more information:
Pieter Vandooren
Tel: +32 (0) 472 292 756
Email: [email protected]
