The Dutch Dilemma: Lifting Potatoes Before October 1 or Use Less Fertilizer Next Year?

The Dutch potato farmers are in a pickle. Even if the potatoes are not yet completely developed, they must be lifted by October 1 following stringent environmental requirements. The policy on fertilizer includes the requirement to harvest before that date. The following year, farmers who don't follow the calendar might use less fertilizer.

Because of the rainy and chilly spring, the potatoes were planted late and did not have enough time to mature.

“We normally plant potatoes around the end of April, but this year we were only able to do so at the end of May. From the moment the plants emerge from the ground, they need 100 growing days to form a tuber and mature,” Bert Merx, owner of an arable farm that grows consumption potatoes declared, cited by RTL Nieuws.

This year, particular actions to enhance water quality have been outlined by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV). This includes the need for farmers to harvest their crops by a specific date. Numerous farmers are obligated to plant a crop known as a “catch crop” after the crops are harvested. This is a crop grown after harvest to absorb fertilizers, especially nitrate. This prevents the substances from ending up in surface water.

This restriction only applies to sand and loess soils, such as those in Gelderland and Limburg, according to Arjen Brak, Sector Specialist in Arable Farming and Open Field Vegetables at the Netherlands Agriculture and Horticulture Organization (LTO). The potatoes are therefore far from fully grown and ripe.

“I expect that many farmers will look at the right harvest conditions and not at the calendar, and then take the discount for granted. But if farmers are less able to feed their crops due to the nitrogen discount, harvests will be lower in the long term,” Brak added.

The Netherlands produces four times as much nitrogen pollution as the average European nation. Agricultural industries account for 61% of emissions. The government must adhere to European standards and has set a target of a 50% reduction in emissions starting in 2030. Although the fall of the cabinet has cast doubt on the latter.