2018 was a year which brought much uncertainty for dairy farms. We monitored the news regarding Phosphate Regulations with trepidation.

2018 was also a year of extreme drought across much of Europe. Fortunately the soil on the farm is heavily clay based with water retaining properties and therefore not as susceptible to drought conditions. However, with the drought conditions in mind we did try a few things a little differently than in previous years:

• we sprinkled the potatoes six times, while we normally would never do that and the yield proved to be good.
• we did not irrigate the sugar beet, which resulted in a slightly lower yield but with a sugar content of 17.5%, there was more than enough sugar cubes generated from one hectare.
• we also managed to harvest more than enough grass and maize silage which we attribute to the clay soil

Sustainable farming and living is something we pride ourselves on. In a bid to contribute more to sustainability, we decided to install Solar Panels onto our farm buildings’ roofs. As a result our homes now use and produce only green energy.

Looking forward into 2019, the first few months will be dedicated to preparing for the Tulip Route and these are in full swing. Join us on Saturday 13 and Monday 22 April 2019 for the Tulip Market, where various local companies will present their produce, products and services. The Flevoland Tulip Routes are open from 13 April to 5 May 2019. More information can be found on Tulpenroute Flevoland.