Wisconsin’s knowledge and expertise in water management could be a good fit for farmers in the Netherlands.
Farmers in the Netherlands are turning to new technology and new ways to manage water as they face increasing problems caused by drought.
Agriculture is a major contributor to the Dutch economy. Agricultural exports (worth €65 billion, or $70 billion USD, annually, according to the Dutch government) account for 17.5% of all Dutch exports. Cereals, feed crops, potatoes, vegetables, and flower bulbs are the top agricultural exports.
Water issues have traditionally created challenges for agriculture in the Netherlands. For centuries, the low-lying landscape struggled with too much water, with windmills pumping moisture out of wet farmland and dikes holding down floods. Now, climate change is reversing the problem. Droughts in 2018, 2020, and 2022 are forcing farmers to prepare for either end of the water spectrum.
As a result of Europe’s hottest summer on record in 2022, crops and hydropower supplies were strained throughout the continent. In the Netherlands, the flow from the Rhine River—which comes from snowmelt from the Alps and provides much of the country’s fresh water—hit a record low, according to a New York Times article.
As a result, city planners and water management officials are taking a number of steps to keep more water in reserve. For example, officials are ripping out concrete tiles to expose more soil and adding bends to streams so water doesn’t run off as quickly, the article says. Water boards around the country are encouraging farmers to use drip irrigation instead of spray cannons to keep the soil moisture more stable. An article by Rabobank says farmers are using lighter machinery and importing manure and other organic matter to adapt to the changing soil content.
In the meantime, farmers are seeing smaller yields for crops such as onions. The gross yield of onions in 2022 fell 17% from the previous year and was the lowest since 2018, another drought year, Statistics Netherlands says. However, yields of wheat and barley were up significantly because of an increase in the cultivation area.
Because of the water issues facing farmers, consumers in the Netherlands could see a substantial rise in food prices.
With Wisconsin’s strong reputation and expertise in water management and farm machinery, suppliers in those fields could be welcomed as partners with the agricultural sector in the Netherlands.
