Stage experiences Tomàs Koch

As part of my professional training “Management of Farming Enterprises” I had the opportunity to join “ van den Borne Aardappelen” for a month in the summer of 2018. I wanted to go to this farm as it is at the cutting edge of precision agriculture as far as it concerns the management of inputs used for the cultivation of potatoes.

During the period I spent at the farm, I discovered a kind of agriculture with which I was completely unfamiliar. I was able to participate in most of the activities carried out during this period. First of all I learned about the irrigation which is indispensable for the development of the crop in this region. Secondly I carried out the testing of nitrate concentrations in potato plants. These measurements are necessary to understand the amount of nitrates that have been absorbed by the plant and the amount that needs to be added to improve its development. In addition to these tests, the tubers were calibrated in order to estimate the yield per field.

I have enjoyed my stay at the farm and found it very interesting since agriculture will have to evolve more and more in respect of its environment. “Van den Borne Aardappelen” shows this very well to anyone who comes and works on their farm. This has given me a lot of ideas about the future of farming.