As a Trial Officer in the Benelux, I spend a lot of my time in the field, collaborating with our team and partners to develop reliable crop solutions that deliver consistent yields and high quality. Each week brings new challenges and opportunities to support our growers. Here’s a look at a recent week in my field operations.
Tuesday – Monitoring leek trials
My colleague Rick and I began the day inspecting our leek planting trials. The growing season has been mild so far, and the crop emergence looks very promising. We monitor trial plants across multiple locations and sowing dates, alongside commercial crops, to identify the varieties that provide the uniformity and resilience our growers need. We’re looking forward to evaluating and eventually harvesting these crops to share the proven results.
Later in the day, I headed home, where I often work remotely. I’m a bit of a gaming nerd and even built my own PC, complete with an oversized screen. While I love gaming, the setup is also great for work. I use it to create trial plans, result overviews, and presentations, making it easy to switch between tasks.
Wednesday – Exploring a production location
Today, I visited one of our production sites with my colleague Frans to learn more about the processes behind our operations. It was a fascinating and educational experience, reminding me of my university days spent conducting crop pollinations. Interestingly, we are now experimenting with using flies instead of bees for pollination. This method, which my old professor also tested, has shown great results so far. Flies are proving to be more resilient and have lower mortality rates in controlled environments.
Afterward, I delivered boxes of sweet corn seeds for a trial featuring two different sowing dates. This trip was special for me, as the delivery was in Prinsenbeek-Haagse Beemden, the area where I grew up and spent my childhood exploring the outdoors.
Thursday – Evaluating plant material & leek podcast
The day started with a visit to check the plant material of our trials. It is important to do checks on the seedlings, irregularities during this stage can explain odd results at evaluation. These visits also allow me to engage directly with plant raisers to discuss market-dominant varieties. Their feedback helps us select the best comparators for our trials, ensuring our seeds meet market demands and perform in real-world conditions.
In the afternoon, I headed to our headquarters in Made to record the first episode of our new podcast. The Marketing Communications department reached out to me for the role as host of the podcast. I had never done anything like that before. As a prisoner of the highway, I am frequently part of a podcast as audience, so it seemed interesting to mix things up. I can be quite a talker, so it seemed like a good fit. However, it is not as easy as it looks, I do enjoy the progress we make with every recording.
Friday – Flexibility in the field
I wrapped up the week by traveling to Germany to plant a new broccoli trial at a customer’s field. It was a long drive, but the weather was perfect, and everything went smoothly. While I had a meeting scheduled that day, agriculture doesn’t always follow a fixed schedule. Weather and soil conditions often dictate planting times, and trial plants need to get into the ground as quickly as possible for optimal performance. Flexibility is key in providing effective field support.
Monday – Fennel trial & chicory podcast
Rick and I set off to East Brabant at 7:00 AM to plant a fennel trial. Fennel requires precision and care, as young plants are especially vulnerable to strong winds, which can twist their stems and block sap flow. We ensured the plants were secure to give them the best start possible.
Later, I returned to Made for another podcast recording. This recording was for the second episode and we introduced new guests. The topic was Witloof (Chicory) and it was a great discussion about the crop, I am still learning a lot about our products thanks to my skilled colleagues. I am already looking forward to the next recording!
