Excessive rainfall since the end of May had already caused the agricultural sector at least EUR 100 million in damages. This was driven up by extreme weather conditions in week 23. Hail stones as big as tennis balls ultimately led to a situation on Thursday evening 23 June 2016 that pressure groups consider to be a national disaster.
Hans Huijbers, CEO of The Southern Agriculture and Horticulture Organisation (ZLTO) in the Netherlands knows this for a fact: the torrential rain and extreme hail showers have caused the Dutch agricultural section more than half a billion euros in damage. This is what he said at a meeting of two regional and one national farming and horticultural organisations in the Netherlands on 27 June 2016. The Agricultural and Horticultural Organisation (LTO), Limburg Agricultural and Horticultural Association (LLTB), and ZLTO had previously met with insurance companies and the Minister of Economic Affairs. Tomato grower Vereijken in Someren, Brabant, was one of the affected nurseries and hosted the meeting.
The farming and horticultural organisations have asked the government to declare the consequences of the storm as a national disaster so that the Dutch act on compensation for damages can come into effect. During his visit on 29 June 2016, Dutch Secretary of State Martijn van Dam repeatedly said that he would not respond to this request. Hail damage to the greenhouses in the Brabant villages of Asten and Someren is the most obviously noticeable; this is where the very heaviest rain came down, destroying 161 hectares of greenhouses on the evening of Thursday 23 June 2016. For an additional 50 hectares it is not yet clear whether the damage is restorable.
A lot of people, however, have also pointed out the effects of the excessive rain, which has been going on since mid-May, in East Brabant and North Limburg. It is a fact that many crops are now rotting in the fields. About 400 hectares of lily bulbs can already be considered as lost. This is another crop for which you have to wait and see what the damage will eventually be. Hans Huijbers described the excessive rain as an assassin: ‘The indirect damages and the consequential losses will mount.’
Seventy nurseries affected by hail
According to the pressure groups, about 600 companies in Brabant and Limburg are struggling with hail and/or water damage. Insurance company Interpolis stated that this includes 70 greenhouse-based horticultural companies. The affected companies also include floricultural businesses.
Since Friday 24 June 2016, they have been trying their best to save crops and to get companies ready for the start of the next production round. In several greenhouses, there is nothing else for it than to start carefully clearing the glass, from the concrete pathways. The structural damage can only be analysed after clearing. They cannot start to rebuild or repair anything yet.
All hands on deck for the greenhouse suppliers, glaziers, and material suppliers. The final repairs following last August’s hail damage in Bommelerwaard, Gelderland, were only completed last month. ‘The scale of this disaster is tremendous.’ Pieter van Velden, a member of the foundation for Coordination of a Calamity for Greenhouses (CCG) explained, ‘It will have consequences for the 100-150 hectares of new-build projects for the next six to twelve months.’ CCG has initiated a repair scheme for the greenhouse-based horticultural sector, so the companies involved will give priority to repairing the damaged greenhouses as agreed.
War zone
The Brabant villages Asten and Someren were particularly badly hit. It has looked something like a war zone here since 23 June 2016: broken greenhouses, and badly damaged roofs of houses and barns, now covered with plastic. Dented cars are more the rule than the exception.
But then it seems that everything is relative. In the early morning of 23 June 2016, heavy rain passed over South Holland. Interpolis received 40 damage reports from greenhouse growers that day. Gutters overflowed and dock shelters filled up because more than 50 mm rain fell from the sky in a short time. Interpolis estimated a total of EUR 1 million in damages.
Growers with outdoor crops also experienced the effect of the severe rain. Harvests were lost, or work had to be postponed. ‘It’s no fun, but it’s the risk of growing outdoors. Every year one crop is damaged by rain or blown flat. The rain has not been too bad in South Holland this year. A heavy shower can be dealt with and may even be welcome every now and then. It is much worse in the East of the Netherlands, where crops are drowning. An even greater problem will probably be how much fertiliser has been flushed out. Henk van den Berg, crop advisor, explained, ‘Crops are weak, and it is not always possible to access the fields to fertilise, or spray against pests and diseases.’
Higher prices
On Erwin Korsten’s fields in Beringe, Limburg, the effects of the abundant rainfall of the past few weeks are clearly visible: the lower-lying sections are completely covered in water. Erwin Korsten, ‘I estimate that approximately 15% of our sunflower harvest is beyond saving. Because there has been such a steady rainfall, the land and the crops have not had a chance to recover. This has an effect on the quality of the harvested product, resulting in water spots on the leaves. I expect more problems with mildew in the coming weeks because we won’t be able to spray because it’s so wet.’
‘It is a blessing in disguise that we are getting good money for the sunflowers at this moment. We are selling through Veiling Rhein-Maas, where significantly fewer sunflowers are being offered for sale than in a “normal” year. Many floricultural companies have been affected more badly than we have, for example in the North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany. The loss of revenue is compensated by the higher price that we are getting at the moment. A typical example of “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. It’s a bitter pill, but it’s the reality.’
According to Wim van den Boomen, President of the ZLTO Greenhouse Horticulture, the impact of the damaged greenhouses is huge, ‘Companies suffered damage, but one single hailstorm has put an estimated 1,400 people out of work. This damage has more impact than you initially realise.’
President Albert Jan Maat of LTO the Netherlands added, ‘It is evident that growers will primarily rely on their insurance companies. But a significant part of the damages will not be covered by a regular insurance. Growers cannot unilaterally be held responsible for this.’ The organisation points to France and Germany: countries which have already offered financial aid to rural areas because of the extreme flooding. LTO the Netherlands expects the government to make a decision in the short-term to help the farmers and growers who have been affected by the exceptional weather conditions.
Interpolis: the importance of tempered glass is obvious
Willem Snoeker, sector manager at Interpolis, said, ‘The hail damage in Limburg and North Brabant at greenhouse-based horticultural companies reached tens of millions of euros.’ With a disaster of this magnitude, the importance of toughened glass becomes apparent. This glass is four to five times as tough as standard glass.
Although even this would not have stood up to the tennis-ball sized hailstones. ‘But in the areas around the eye of the storm, the stones were smaller, and toughened glass would have been more resistant,’ Willem Snoeker explained.
Interpolis received 400 damage reports following the hailstorm. Almost all 70 of the affected greenhouse-based horticultural companies were insured against hail damage. This is one of the banks’ requirements when companies finance a mortgage. Almost all companies had a crop insurance as well.
The ultimate damages for the greenhouse growers depend on the consequential losses and how long it will be before the companies can get back in production. Everything possible will be done to save crops and to get companies ready for the start of the next production round.
By: Hans Neefjes and Ank van Lier
600 companies in Brabant and Limburg are struggling with hail and/ or water damage.
Growers with outdoor crops experienced the effect of severe rain.
