Jilles Boer from Bant (Noordoostpolder) has grown 7.6 hectares of yellow onions (HYSKY and Dormo) this year. The main crop on Jilles’ arable farm is seed potatoes, which he supplies as high-quality starting material to 80 farmers in the Netherlands. Jilles his farm consists of 60 hectares. In this newsletter, Jilles talks about his company, vlogging, onion cultivation and his vision for the future of agriculture.

Jilles Boer vlogs

Farm Boer – de Jong is run by Jilles Boer and his partner Wikje de Jong. Together, they have grown seed potatoes, sugar beet, seed onions, winter wheat, and barley for more than 25 years. As an experienced grower who likes to share his knowledge in his vlogs published every Monday at noon on his YouTube channel of the same name. “My main reason for starting vlogging arose from the frustration I noticed in myself when incorrect information is spread about agriculture without knowing what is really happening in agriculture.” In Jilles’ vlogs, all facets of agriculture come to the fore. “I enjoy explaining to people the beautiful profession that I practice. But I would prefer to see the younger generation take over this task from me so that the knowledge can continue to exist.”

Onion storage

“We have been storing our onions in crates for seven years now. Certainly, because it is a lot easier in terms of storage, I also believe that it has improved the onions’ quality. But above all, I am now much more flexible. I can now harvest potatoes in the morning and scour the onions in the afternoon.” For Waterman, the loading of Boer onions went smoothly, partly due to the smooth communication and direct purchase. The quality of the onions supplied by Boer – de Jong can be seen in his vlog or on our Instagram account. On the latter, buyer Jelmer Elzinga also explains how Waterman checks the onions this year.

Quality control

This was Jilles’ first year supplying Waterman. “Jelmer often visits me, and this year we agreed on a deal. Now I think that many onion buyers are often negative about the market, while I did not have this feeling with Jelmer.” However, quality control will never become his favourite hobby. “For a farmer, every onion you cut and throw away hurts a bit.” But with a tare percentage of less than 3%, Boer cannot complain this year. The grower thinks his high quality is mainly because he was fortunate with his spraying moments this year. “I always determine the injection moment based on my instincts. Although spraying is not my favourite hobby, you must do something against the diseases and pests.”

Soil quality

Jiles has used a 1 in 6 rotation for the past 25 years. “It is now not possible for me to maintain a 1 in 8 rotation. I would need an extra plot.” However, Boer does think that it is much more important what you as a grower do with the soil. “I grow 1 in 3 grain myself to maintain the quality of the soil. But I also think that the most important thing a farmer can do for his soil is the addition of green manure.” In any case, Jilles sees no future in plant protection products. “We’ve lost some of the plant protection products, and I expect it to lose more over the coming years. That is why I think that the greatest gains can be made in breeding varieties.”

Boer expects to grow 8 hectares of onions next year with the HYSKY and Red Baron varieties.

Would you like our buyers to look at your onions in storage? Contact them now.