Dutch hail horror: a year later

Damage to the nursery kwekerij Wim Peters after the hail last June

For Adri Witlox of Interpolis it was soon clear that Someren was deep in trouble. "Thursday evening around 8 o'clock it happened. The next day we directly picked up the calamity handbook and from Saturday experts worked in a disaster center in the area." The damage was assessed as 150 hectares of greenhouses in which the crop could no longer be rescued and another 50 hectares of seriously damaged acreage. According to Adri, it is the most extensive damage ever in greenhouse horticulture. 

The total damage was EUR 170 million in the total agricultural sector, of which 130 million in greenhouse horticulture. "The crop damage is an important item. To quantify it exactly takes another year. If you have completed the recovery in December, you start cultivating again. Only after a year can you determine the crop damage." 

In the months after the calamity, one thing became very clear: The Netherlands did not have enough material nor manpower to respond immediately to the calamity. "Greenhouse repair is a dying trade," said Claudia van der Ende of Kasreparatie. The sector has depleted in recent years. "A couple of years ago it was very bad, then many greenhouse repairmen moved to other segments. "New construction abroad, for example, but also in the Netherlands: asbestos removal, or paintwork. "Those people will not come back. New construction is not the same as repair work."

Where some suffer losses, others may benefit, but eventually the hail damage caused the Dutch greenhouse builders and suppliers to have a pretty good year. This year this trend continues, greenhouse builders are fully booked and anyone who wants to renew installations can join the queue at the end. And there are more sectors that actually benefit from the damage. The cucumber prices immediately shot up and continued to be good during the rest of the season. Also the price improved very well for the other fruit vegetables. 

That there was a shortage of people and material after the damage is clear. Yet Adri Witlox also shows the other side. "If there would be sufficient people available for such a large demand, you actually have an overcapacity. Of course, you can prepare for a small recovery by having enough material and glass in stock. But with such a big calamity, to have sufficient people ready for the whole recovery, is practically impossible."

Wim van den Boomen also knows that preparing for such a disaster is impossible. "What can be done is to ensure that the supporting organization is properly structured. That contacts have been made beforehand, knowing each other and knowing where to go for glass, aluminum and other things. That's the cardinal lesson we all have learned. "Based on the experiences of this calamity in southeast Netherlands, ZLTO has drawn up a Crisis Roadmap that provides information in case of calamities.

A year after the hail, not all of the greenhouses are back in production. Two growers do not have any plants under glass yet. These are lighted tomato growers, whose season starts later. For example, Greenco does not have all greenhouses full, but the first green can be seen again. The total crop and fourteen hectares of greenhouse were demolished last year. It was decided to rebuild the complete greenhouses. The first four hectares of snack tomato plants went in last week. "The remaining hectares will be filled in phases in the coming period", the company announces. And not only that: the renewed greenhouses are extremely advanced. "The greenhouses have a perfect climate and minimize the burden to the environment. The raw materials for cultivation will be reused as much as possible. It is not for nothing that Tommie’s greenhouse is recognized as a Green Label greenhouse." Next spring the company expects to be in full production again with the greenhouses in Someren.

Companies like Joosten Growers, Pieter van Gogh and Wim Peters also had their greenhouses rebuilt. And here too, the optimism of the growers is prevalent. "The greenhouses will be equipped with the most modern techniques, will be higher than the previous and will be fitted with hardened diffuse glass," Wim Peters told after the construction. "With that great news, we're going towards the future full of energy and confidence."