In the section ‘The trading house’ we highlight a (relatively small) trading house in each edition. What is the raison d’être of these companies? What vision and strategy do they follow? How do they ensure that they do not fall behind in the specific market in which they operate? And what does their potato of the future look like? This edition: Agroplant from Medemblik .
A variety package that covers all markets. It is the dot on the horizon for Agroplant from Medemblik. With ten own varieties, around a thousand hectares of seed potatoes in pool and one hundred and twenty growers, there is a stable base. At the moment, with 220 hectares of seed potatoes, Actress is the largest. This is an early round-oval potato for fresh consumption, which is exported to about thirty countries. “There is a lot of demand for early varieties,” says product manager Gerard Schenk of Agroplant. “Nature is changing, so we want to keep the number of growing days as short as possible. Actress is a cross of Denise and Agata. Both early maturing varieties with a growing time of about 90 days.”
Schenk sees a growing demand for ‘all-rounders’ that can be developed in a relatively short time, especially in the table and export segment. “Summers are getting hotter and winters are getting wetter. For the extreme fluctuations you want the potatoes of the land. The shorter the growth period, the safer the margin. Maybe in ten years we will only be talking about a growth period of a maximum of 100 days.”
Breeding
It is one of the breeding goals that Agroplant sets for its hobby growers and the Frisian breeding company Foar Boer en Keapman (Fobek). The potato trading house from Medemblik has a share in Fobek and can therefore respond to the developments it sees in roughly ten years. Because breeding is not just the art of throwing away. Before a variety can be registered for the list of varieties, you will have many years of crossing and testing. “We mainly use the breeding program broadly.
Resistance to phytophthora , nematodes and as many viruses as possible. Also strong on erwinia and silver scurf. These are all qualities that a potato must possess in the future. I personally don’t think there’s much new stuff to it. A new variety must also above all be an all-rounder that is up to as many challenges as possible in cultivation. We know that the resource package is coming under increasing pressure. So the potato must be strong in itself and preferably with as few growing days as possible. Coincidentally, we also just registered a new red-skinned variety, which is not only strong against erwinia, but at the same time not very susceptible to Y virus. In addition, he has a broad resistance package. You have to go there.”
Agricultural plant
The DNA of Agroplant is hidden in the West Frisian agricultural culture. Founder Jan van der Lee continued the work of his father-in-law Klaas Molenaar as a trader in fruit and vegetables. The Opperdoes auction clock in the current canteen in Medemblik is a direct reminder of that time. The trading house was expanded with exports to various countries in Europe. Agroplant is still a family business, because Jan (junior), Bram and Joris van der Lee have been the fourth generation to manage the company since 2014.
However, after the split of Agrofex, the focus has shifted to the marketing of seed potatoes under the name Agroplant. The oversized potatoes are sold as consumption. “We have traditionally also traded free varieties such as Bintje and Spunta, but we notice that customers abroad mainly ask for monopoly varieties. Gradually, the focus has shifted from free trade to more licensed cultivation.”
Export markets
North Africa and the Mediterranean are the main export markets. “The coarse-growing consumption varieties are doing well there. In the meantime, in addition to table potatoes, we also have red-skinned and processing varieties in our range. We also showed a potato chip variety for the first time at the latest variety shows.” As far as Schenk is concerned, the actress is an example of a breed whose potential is still great. “It is an easy variety to grow. Perhaps Actress is still a little slow in emerging, on the other hand, she has maximum yield in few growing days. In a short time it grows quite explosively and becomes quite large. With a low nitrogen requirement. That is of course a big advantage in consumption.”
For the seed potato grower, the foliage is killed on time with Actress. “But we are getting to know the breed better and better. With good guidance it is no problem at all.” According to Schenk, table potatoes generally thrive on lighter soils, and so does Actress. “This variety has the well-known resistances: Potato fatigue RO1 and RO4, wart disease and good drought resistance. Although certain resistances abroad actually make less of a difference. Actress is fairly sensitive to phytophthora, but because it ripens so early, there were not many problems in storage and storage last season, despite the high pressure.”
Meanwhile, Agroplant tries to think along with its growers when it comes to the challenges in cultivation. “If you see how the resources package has been planed, I would get nervous. That is why one of the assignments for our hobby growers and the breeding company Fobek is also to come up with strong varieties, so that you need less crop protection and fertilization.” Agroplant deliberately does not include organic varieties in its range. “This is an emerging market, but not big enough to specialize in it.”
Climate change
For Schenk, climate change is perhaps the biggest challenge for the cultivation work. “The availability of sufficient clean water will be one of the focal points. Salinisation, dry summers and irrigation bans put a lot of pressure on that availability. The potato must be stronger in the pre-growth and, above all, continue to grow.” The French fries variety Metro, the red-skinned Margarita and also the Actress all have this characteristic.
A number of growers, especially in the Wieringermeer, only have varieties from Agroplant. “An advantage is that the grower receives a payment for the seed, whatever it is worth. No leveling takes place. The grower is also free to sell the excess size himself.” Most growers are located in the Netherlands and Belgium. The Picobello medium-early table potato variety is grown only in France and exclusively for the home market.
A number of growers, especially in the Wieringermeer, only have varieties from Agroplant. “An advantage is that the grower receives a payment for the seed, whatever it is worth. No leveling takes place. The grower is also free to sell the excess size himself.” Most growers are located in the Netherlands and Belgium. The Picobello medium-early table potato variety is grown only in France and exclusively for the home market.
Trial harvests
The trial harvests are brought in at the location in Medemblik and sorted to size with the Gejo Smart Grader. The quality assessment also looks at scab and underwater weight. In addition, a box valuation is done to keep the stock as tight as possible. “The challenge for the grower is to deliver the highest possible quality, because that ultimately sells the best. This also means that the right varieties are grown on the right areas of land. Some growers are very adept at this.”
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Text and image: Martin de Vries
