How To Make Your Farm Adapt To A Changing Climate

You don't have to work in agriculture to notice that the climate is changing. Everyone remembers the hot, dry summers of 2018 and 2019, and the extremely wet period of the past few months. Where a farmer could still rely on his common sense 20 years ago, things are different now. Other measures are needed. And that varies per area. Take a look at the salty Zeeland, the level-controlled Peel, the drying Veenkoloniën and the densifying Flevoland.

Each area has its own solution
Wageningen University & Research has locations all over the Netherlands where research is conducted into how best to deal with climate change. These 'Farms of the Future' are looking for solutions, such as lighter machinery on the land or testing varieties that are more resistant to extreme weather conditions. "Climate change causes a shift in temperature and changing precipitation patterns, which has an impact on the future of farmers," says Emma Knol, climate & business researcher. "Every region struggles with different effects. Farmers who grow on sandy soil are more likely to experience negative consequences of drought. Sandy soil does not retain water well due to the coarse structure of the sand. Farmers who grow on clay soil are more likely to suffer from too much water."

Salty Zeeland
In Zeeland, farmers are dealing with soil salinization. For years, this coastal province was known for its onion cultivation. But in five years, the number of fields where onions are grown has almost halved – partly due to salinization. Summers are becoming drier, causing salt water to penetrate further inland. It gets more 'space' because the fresh water is used for drinking water, industry, agriculture or evaporates. Salt water rises as seepage water and reaches the ground and surface water, making the soil less fertile. Onion cultivation is now shifting east. In the meantime, Wageningen researchers are working on a solution.

Experimental farmers in the Peel
In the eastern and southern Netherlands, the situation is very different. There, farmers have to deal with drought-sensitive sandy soils. Farmers and researchers are experimenting with crops that are less sensitive to drought, such as the grain sorghum.

The 'Farm of the Future Zuidoostelijk Zand' operates in East and Central Brabant and North and Central Limburg: an intensive agricultural area with lots of cattle and intensive land use. "In our region, there is a close connection between plant and animal production," says farm manager Marc Kroonen. "Livestock farms like to buy the (residual) products of farmers. You can think of roughage crops, potatoes, sugar beets, grains, vegetable crops, carrots, corn."

In this area, it is especially challenging to maintain good soil quality and to have sufficient water available. Farms are built on sandy soil, and these soils retain little water and nutrients. If you cannot irrigate your field during dry periods, the harvest will be lost. “Various parties compete for fresh water. Water is not only used as drinking water, but is also important for industry, nature and agriculture,” Kroonen explains. “We conduct tests with crops and cultivation systems to find out whether they yield sufficient production with less water, so that farmers can earn a living from this. We irrigate on a custom basis and use level-controlled drainage for good infiltration and discharge of rainwater during wet periods: a system with which you measure the groundwater and thus choose to retain more or less water. This also allows you to infiltrate water better and retain it longer for dry periods.”

'Farm of the Future South-East Sand' is also working on healthy soil, because that can also help to retain more water. It is important to choose your crops in such a way that they do not deplete the soil. For example, Kroonen is thinking of working with 6 crops that change every year: potatoes, winter grain, grass clover, a vegetable crop, sugar beet and corn combined with green manures. "The system provides vegetables, potatoes (fries!) and sugar as food for people. Barley, grass clover and corn serve as cattle feed. Residual flows from the potato and sugar beet can be used as cattle feed for dairy farming and pig farming."

Drying Peat Colonies
Sufficient water is also a major challenge in the Veenkoloniën. This region is located in the east of Groningen and Drenthe. Farmers in this area grow crops that are the basis for an end product, such as beets for making sugar.

Brenda Timmerman, project leader of the Farm of the Future in Valthermond, introduces you to the area: “Farms are located on valley soil. This is a sandy soil that is released when a layer of peat has been excavated, mixed with bon soil: the top layer of the peat. The soil consists of higher dry sand hills and lower wetter areas. The difference in height within the elongated plots is increasing due to the process of peat oxidation: the peat that is exposed to the outside air slowly breaks down. The soil eventually settles. This process happens faster when it is warm. Wet areas become wetter and dry areas even drier.”

Water supply is difficult, but you can retain water. For this you can use a low-lying part of the farm plot as a buffer. In case of heavy rainfall you can control the height of the water level in the ditch via a small dam and drain the water to the buffer. Timmerman: “We are looking at how we can get the water to the dry parts. And we are investigating how we can still use such a wet piece of land. For example, we are thinking of growing bulrush. This crop can be used as a biobased building material: natural materials. Farmers often do nothing with this yet because they still have too many questions about the sales of products and what it yields. ”

In the Veenkoloniën, researchers are working on a healthy business system with good earning capacity, maintaining healthy soil and a way to make cultivation more resilient. Farm manager Gerard Hoekzema: “For example, in the potato - beet - grain rotation, we are looking at an additional crop, which means we can also use green manures within these rotations.” Timmerman adds: “Green manures ensure a higher organic matter content, and therefore a healthier soil. Traditionally, farmers often work with three crops. We are investigating what a fourth crop does to the income. ”

Clay particles break apart
On to the last stop: Flevoland. Where farmers who grow on sandy soil have difficulty supplying water, too much water is a problem for farmers who grow on clay soil, such as in Flevoland. Clay soil cannot absorb rainwater quickly enough during heavy showers. The upper clay particles are broken, and the top layer is sealed with smaller soil particles. “ The expectation is that due to climate change, soils will remain wet for longer in the autumn and winter,” says Derk van Balen, researcher of farm systems and soil. “If farmers drive over this with heavy machinery, there is a chance of compaction of the soil. This means that plants cannot root as deeply. In dry summers, this is very disadvantageous.”

According to Van Balen, you can't solve soil compaction by increasing the contact surface of the tires alone. Fewer tracks are left on the land, but heavy machinery still compacts the soil at greater depths. "It can help to drill holes through heavily compacted layers. That ensures better drainage. But the technology is very expensive," he says. "You can also think of robotization and lighter machines that can be on the land 24 hours a day. For example, there is a lot of interest in robot tractors. You can also look at crops with a short growing period that are suitable for harvesting earlier in the season." According to Van Balen, that does bring challenges, because you also have to deal with companies that process the products. "Early harvesting and temporary storage of sugar beets is beneficial for soil quality, but often unfavorable for the quality of sugar beets."

Next generation
“Our goal is to pass on the soil to the next generation in the same way that we received it from the previous generation,” Gerard Hoekzema adds. According to him, precision farming will certainly gain ground in the Veenkoloniën. “For example, valley soils consist of sand and peat in different compositions and different organic matter content. The diversity of soil types causes a variety of problems: an area-oriented approach is needed.”