Testimonials

Farmer Kris Jacquemyn explains his view on crop rotation. Kris is a cattle farmer in pilot region 'the Merode' of Flanders (Belgium).
(Language: Dutch, subtitles: Dutch, English, French, German)

Gert Van de Ven (Hooibeekhoeve) talks about crop rotation and what the benefits are. He discusses a couple of examples from his experience with experiments on Hooibeekhoeve. Reduced weed pressure and a build-up of organic matter in the soil are some of the important benefits of crop rotation. Also the problem of high nitrate residues can be avoided with crop rotation. 
(Language: Dutch, subtitles: Dutch and English)

In Flanders, many soils contain phosphorus. In order to avoid excessive leaching into the surface water, crops can be grown to absorb the phosphorus and fix it in the plant. Harvesting the plant then means draining phosphorus from the plot. In this video An Schellekens (LCV - Hooibeekhoeve) discusses the possibilities of hemp cultivation in Flanders. Hemp is extremely suitable for phosphorus mining because of its deep root system, drought resistance and good youth growth. Besides, it provides natural fibres that have a growing market. 
(Language: Dutch, subtitles: Dutch and English)

In this video Gert Van de Ven (LCV - Hooibeekhoeve) talks about the different advantages of cereals in a crop rotation. The soil stays covered with vegetation, grain is harvested early, the carbon content in the soil can be built up, ... The grain does not have to be harvested as dry grain either. It can also be mowed in spring and stored and fed to cattle, then it will be silaged as a whole plant. Afterwards, the grain can be further developed into a full grain crop for a new silage cut or even a dry grain harvest.
(Language: Dutch, subtitles: Dutch and English)