The warm spring weather has given B-Four Agro a smooth start to the open-field vegetable season. "Actually, it's going a little too well," says Lars Berkhout. "We're now four weeks into the season. Normally, we would be harvesting coloured lettuce from the third planting week, but thanks to the good weather, we're already harvesting up to the sixth planting week. So now it's really a matter of keeping pace, because everything we harvest now won't be available later. More stable weather would therefore be welcome."
Lars Berkhout. Right: Bleekselderij
In recent years, B-Four Agro has developed into a true specialist in lettuce, celery, and various types of cabbage. The range includes endive, Lollo Rossa and Bionda, red and green oak leaf lettuce, Frisée, Romaine, Batavia, Expedition, celery, and in winter, Chinese cabbage and pointed cabbage. "Ninety-nine per cent of the coloured lettuce goes to cutting plants, while celery sales are more evenly divided between cutting plants, retail, export, and wholesalers, each accounting for around 25%," says Lars.
Vegetables grown in water
The Warmenhuizen-based company cultivates its produce on approximately 200 hectares of land. Previously, the company focused heavily on growing vegetables using water systems, but that project was discontinued a few years ago due to high energy costs. "We still have ideas and continue to run tests, but on a smaller scale," says Lars.
Left: Romaine lettuce, right: Chinese cabbage
The sharp increase in costs, coupled with decreasing availability of resources, is the main challenge the company faces. "Here in North Holland, land prices rise every year. We have to compete with the flower bulb sector, which is currently generating good returns. Bungalow parks in the coastal area are also trying to buy up a lot of land," says Lars.
Packaged celery
"Celery is a product that has gained popularity in recent years. There are about seven players in the Netherlands, and the market is fairly evenly divided. It's not yet a product that you can sell by the trailer-load, but sales are gradually increasing," says the young grower. "I also see growth potential in coloured lettuce sales over the coming years. These used to be mainly purchased by cutting companies in the south of the country, but now, to spread their risk, processors are also sourcing them from the north of the Netherlands to ensure a more reliable supply."
Left: Romaine lettuce, right: Endive
Cultivation in Portugal
To meet customer demand year-round, B-Four Agro began a collaboration six months ago with a Portuguese grower who is trialling celery and iceberg lettuce. "We've received the first iceberg lettuce from Portugal, and it went well. In a few weeks, we'll receive the first Portuguese celery. If all goes well, we plan to expand cultivation in Portugal to include other products in the coming years."
Lollo Bionda and Lollo Rossa
A unique feature of B-Four Agro is its own biodigester, located at the company's site in Warmenhuizen. "We process waste streams from various cutting plant customers, but we also receive rejected batches of bananas, avocados, or mandarins from wholesale customers. We reuse this residual waste to produce green gas, which we feed back into the natural gas grid. The remaining digestate is used as a fertiliser substitute. Digestate has become more widely known in recent years, and demand has grown. So that completes the circle," says Lars.
Spraying digestate on the field
Berkhout is one of four shareholders in the open-field vegetable company and looks forward to continued growth in the coming years. "We've also expanded the organisation recently to support this growth. In terms of sales, we're well established in various Dutch market segments, which is why we're now mainly focusing on growth in the export market." 
For more information:
Lars Berkhout
B-Four Agro
Heemtweg 5
1749 EK Warmenhuizen
Tel.: +31 (0) 226 39 36 91
[email protected]
www.b4agro.nl