Dries, Chris, and Stijn Lambrechts
The household owns land in Belgium that was used as a tree nursery, however now boasts a 2.2-hectare foil greenhouse. This isn’t the primary greenhouse for strawberry growers. Chris Lambrechts and his spouse, Tine Peters, took over the enterprise from Chris’s mother and father in 2001. They slowly grew to over 12 hectares. The 2 farmers and their sons, Dries and Stijn, develop the glass and plastic greenhouses and develop the cabinets.
With Dries and Stijn becoming a member of, the corporate had plans to broaden additional. They needed land close by for this newest enlargement. It’s troublesome to attain this in Belgium, not to mention permit building on it. A greenhouse is not going to work within the chosen location. Constructing a foil greenhouse with a decrease roof is an answer. The peak of the Ventrio foil greenhouse is 3.4 metres, which is far decrease than most fashionable glass greenhouses.
Within the fall, this foil greenhouse homes a wide range of Elsanta. Subsequent 12 months, Dris says, they wish to breed a everlasting provider. Increasingly strawberry growers are contemplating these varieties. The Delphi experiments present that as an alternative of a dash, with an accompanying rise in employment, agriculture turns into a marathon with extra balanced however longer and extra secure manufacturing.
This winter, the household will activate the lights once more at a distinct location to develop the winter crop below the lights. Dris factors out that they gained expertise in one of these crop within the 2021/2022 season, however they skipped final winter because of the power disaster. Nevertheless, Coöperatie Hoogstraten, which handles grower gross sales, can anticipate winter strawberries once more this 12 months.
The brand new greenhouse – though there are just a few new horticultural tasks at present – shouldn’t be the one one within the strawberry sector. This 12 months, main greenhouse growers Royal Berry and Brookberry opened new greenhouses, whereas Dutch Berries has surpassed 40 hectares with its lately introduced enlargement. Internationally, strawberry cultivation can also be highly regarded, for instance, many North American growers have moved to strawberry cultivation.
Many Dutch and Belgian strawberries are grown for native consumption. It’s exported, however relative to the quantity of Dutch manufacturing remaining within the nation, that is nonetheless restricted.
Within the Netherlands, the world of strawberries lined in greenhouses and everlasting tunnels has doubled in a decade. Flanders additionally exhibits a gentle improve within the space below cultivation. Lately, Flemish statisticians consistently level to the shift from open to lined agriculture. Out of doors cultivation elevated by 10.2% in 2023, whereas greenhouse cultivation elevated by 9.5%. In 2022, the Dutch outside farming space reached 839 hectares of manufacturing. Of Flanders’ whole space of 1,040 hectares in 2023, 416 hectares are completely lined.
Lately, the world of strawberries lined by Dutch and Flemish has remained unchanged. Preliminary numbers for 2023 for these areas present a slight decline. The power disaster additionally appeared in strawberry cultivation, particularly amongst small farmers, who’re nonetheless quite a few. Present growers broaden, and new growers are added, for instance, by changing a tomato greenhouse right into a strawberry greenhouse.
