The Netherlands Showing the World the Future of Farming

[G_j]

https://apple.news/As1RsMDEAS32aQbFAzzIKAw

This Tiny Country Feeds the World

The Netherlands has become an agricultural giant by showing what the future of farming could look like

In a potato field near the Netherlands’ border with Belgium, Dutch farmer Jacob van den Borne is seated in the cabin of an immense harvester before an instrument panel worthy of the starship Enterprise.

From his perch 10 feet above the ground, he’s monitoring two drones—a driverless tractor roaming the fields and a quadcopter in the air—that provide detailed readings on soil chemistry, water content, nutrients, and growth, measuring the progress of every plant down to the individual potato. Van den Borne’s production numbers testify to the power of this “precision farming,” as it’s known. The global average yield of potatoes per acre is about nine tons. Van den Borne’s fields reliably produce more than 20.

That copious output is made all the more remarkable by the other side of the balance sheet: inputs. Almost two decades ago, the Dutch made a national commitment to sustainable agriculture under the rallying cry “Twice as much food using half as many resources.” Since 2000, van den Borne and many of his fellow farmers have reduced dependence on water for key crops by as much as 90 percent. They’ve almost completely eliminated the use of chemical pesticides on plants in greenhouses, and since 2009 Dutch poultry and livestock producers have cut their use of antibiotics by as much as 60 percent.

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[WhiteTara]

1. Maybe I want to move there.

I'm so tired of stupid and evil.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Stupid and evil exists there, too. Look no further than how close they came . . . . . .

. . . . . to their own hard, hard right leader in their last election.

[WhiteTara]

4. But they were defeated there.

Here they are given all the country has to offer.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. The difference between winning and losing is narrow. That group is widely . . . .

. . . . supported across Europe. There WILL be a next time for them.

[pangaia]

3. I have a few Dutch friends and visit there upon occasion..

It is a sane, civilized place,, flat, so you can bike a lot, good health care, great education system, great roads, happy people, and one of the great cultural cities in the world, The Hague is also a great place.
In fact, I think it is possible to actually kayak from The Hague to Amsterdam...

[lark]

7. It's so beautiful there and the people are passionate about protecting the land.

I'd love to live there, but can't afford it.

[Mr. Ected]

5. I lived in the Netherlands for 5 years

And can attest to their ingenuity and cultural awareness.

My wife and I visit as often as we are able. In spite of its small size and large population, it is one of the more civil places on this planet.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

8. Simply amazing...

The future of agriculture.

[Brother Buzz]

9. Is it true Dutch kids had to turn in their baseball bats for badminton rackets?

[MrScorpio]

10. I have in-laws over there

They're amazing people. It didn't take long, after they showed me around, for me to realize how backward America is.

[G_j]

11. It's alarming

when that sinks in.

[OnDoutside]

12. They are interesting people alright, though they have little tact ! EVERYONE has an opinion,

as a CEO once said to me, even the cleaning person here will tell me where I'm going wrong !

I was there in Maastricht for an Andre Rieu concert in July, and I can recommend it for the experience.

[MrScorpio]

13. I used to go to Maastricht many times

Went for the shopping, loved Albert Heijn!

[OnDoutside]

15. Unfortunately we only had 2 nights there and then onto Scheveningen Beach at The Hague. We

will definitely go back though !

South West of France next weekend

[Coventina]

14. I was there summer of 2010

I did not want to come back.

Beautiful country.