During the 5 year period of 2005 to 2010 the Dutch Farmer received the following average prices for:
Onions: € 0,09 per Kg.
Potatoes: € 0,10 per Kg.
Carrots: € 0,09 per Kg.
Source: INSTITUTE OF APPLIED PLANT RESEARCH
Question:
Can YOU compete with these prices?
1) The Potato or Onion Harvest.
4 principle objectives of a successful onion or potato harvest are:
- Harvest at the correct moment.
- Get the harvest as quickly as possible from the field.
- Avoid physical damage to the product.
- Harvest at minimum cost and time.
Taking these 4 objectives into account we will discuss the following themes:
- How do we determine the adequate moment of the harvest, taking into account the final destination of the produce.
- An exhaustive comparison between a manual harvest, partially mechanized harvest and a completely mechanized harvest , always having in mind the final destination of the product.
Paying attention to your specific requirements can make for a more successful storage of the product.
2) Onion Transport or Potato Transport from the field to the storage.
In this chapter we only analyze the transport from the field to the installations for possible storage and processing. Transport is determined by the following: storage or no storage, what kind of storage system will be used and what is the product's final destination.
For instance, the transport of a product that goes into bulk storage is completely different than transporting a product that will be stored in boxes (bins), or not stored at all on the premises.
We will have a look at the most basic systems and the most sophisticated (completely automated and computerized) installations.
3) The storage (To dry, to cure and to store Onions or Potatoes).
The question:
To Store
or
Not to Store Onions and Potatoes?
is the central theme of this Webpage.
The decision to store or not to store is probably one of the most difficult decisions for the grower because of the relatively large investment. But if the market requires it and the product is fit to store this investment can be very profitable because it puts the producer in a much stronger position to negotiate the sales price and makes him less dependant on his habitual customers. With adequate storage the farmer is going to be in a position where he can choose his clients.
In this central chapter storage is analyzed with regard to the question:
"To store or not to store?"
- When is an onion or potato fit for storage? ?
- What are the major risks of storing a product that is not fit for storage?
- How to store a product, taking into account its final destination!
(For instance the storage conditions to store potatoes for chips are completely different to the storage conditions for seed potatoes.) ? - The different storage systems that are available today.
- How do these installations function?
- And much more...
4) Potato Handling and Onion Handling Equipment.
From now on we are going to "ADD VALUE" to the harvest.
An onion stem cut at the market length, well graded onions and potatoes or well cleaned potatoes are all examples of "ADDED VALUE" opportunities to the harvest!
Why give away for free all these "Added Values" to the rest of the distribution chain?
The farmer, who works and invests more than anybody else in the production of onions and potatoes is in the perfect position to add all these "Added Values" to the product and reap the benefits of these "Added Value Opportunities!". We will show you a variety of installations to add value to the harvest.
5) Processing Potatoes or Onions.
Another way to add value to the harvest is process the product into a completely different product. During the last 15 years all the statistics show clearly that the business of the industrialized processed potato and onion grew at a healthy rate of 15 and more percent while the business of fresh produce hardly grew at all.
So why not consider, for instance, the very simple process of cutting onions and packing them in vacuum sealed plastic bags (the price of the onion will at least triple per kg).
Or consider processing the potatoes into:
- Potato starch
- Flakes
- Pre-fried frozen French fries
- Or a simple small chip line for the local market.
6) Packaging, another added value to the Potato or Onion harvest.
Another important added value for the producer can be:
The Packaging !
More and more, the grocery stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets sell their onions, potatoes, carrots or other vegetables packed in bags of between 2 to 5 kg. The packaging can be very simple, (like a netted bag with or without a small label), to very elaborate packaging with the store logo printed on it, even including the bar-code to facilitate better store administration. The stores prefer to work with packaging because:
- There is no need the weigh, package and price the product the moment the consumer buys the product.
- The store's shelves look much better, more organized.
- It enables the store to create a private label, selling, in realty, the same product only with a more attractive image for a premium price.
- The handling of the product inside the store's facility is much easier than handling onions and potatoes in bulk.
Why should a farmer not deliver this service to the local stores and add more value to his own product?
7) Anything in Agriculture that could add value to the crop.
- A deeper look at the extreme low price of onions, potatoes and other produce in the Netherlands where labour costs exceed € 15 per hour, diesel is € 1.50 per liter, fertilizers and seeds are 10 to 15% higher than in most other parts of the world, and land prices are exceedingly high (due to dense populations). How do they manage this? We will benchmark cost/pricing versus proposed investment.
- An exchange rate calculator to calculate pricing in foreign currencies.
- A tool to calculate the financial differences between mechanized harvesting and storing as opposed to manual harvesting and selling the product directly from the field to the market.
- A tool to help with respect to crop rotation. Correct crop rotation is one of the most important weapons against plagues, fungi and land depletion and a tool to minimize fertilizing and optimizing crop yield.
- Other potential projects will be discussed here.
- And anything of interest in agriculture that comes our way in the future.
