Holstar cultivates approx. 300 ha (750 acre) with potatoes. Pictures from Agrifoto.nl

Reducing soil pressure to boost potato quality: Rubber tracks experience in Poland

André van Wijgerden (Pezino, Poland) purchased a set of Zuidberg Tracks to prevent soil damage during the sowing of potatoes. We visited André in Poland to learn about his experiences.

Cultivation on Poland’s sandy soil

For three years, André van Wijgerden, owner at Holstar company in Poland, works with a set of Zuidberg Tracks on his Steyr CVT 6240. By using tracks, André ensures that soil compaction is as low as possible.

Holstar operates in the north-west of Poland, and has a total of 1.200 hectare (2965 acre) fields, of which 300 ha (750 acre) Holstar uses for potato cultivation. To get a feel for their land: He cultivates on a sandy soil with stones here and there. The landscape is slightly hilly.

Not only do they cultivate potatoes, but after harvest they sort, package and clean the product professionally as well. Next to potatoes, Holstar produces wheat, rapeseed, rye and barley.

Andre van Wijgerden together with his sowing combination on tracks.

Too big and too heavy

André started looking for options to reduce soil compaction. He first tried conventional tracked John Deere and Challenger tractors.

“Sowing worked just fine, but the machines were big and too heavy. When turning on the headlands you will create ridges because of slumping. That’s why we chose to go with a lightweight alternative.”

Traction for working uphill

André finally committed to a Steyr CVT 6240 on Zuidberg F-frame tracks with an All-In-One profi sowing combination from Miedema. Next to reduced soil compaction, he noticed  several other benefits.

“Some of our fields are located on steep slopes. A tractor on regular tyres is unable to work uphill. A tracked tractor can do this with ease.” 

As the footprint from Tracks is far greater as compared to a tyre, the machine can make optimal use of its horsepowers with minimal power loss.

“With tracks, my tractor drives as straight as a die with no deviation whatsoever . This advantage shows best when driving our more bumpy fields.”

Fuel consumption does go up a bit; André estimates that it’s about 10% higher as compared to a normal tractor. After all, the engine needs more power to drive the tracks. All in all, the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages, André says.

The verdict

The result is more than satisfactory: André and Holstar profits from extra value due to the track-systems. André tells us that tracks are not yet as popular in Poland as in some other countries.

“I think that most people in Poland are still unaware about the damage that soil compaction causes. You also don’t see that many dual air tyres around here, either. We always pay attention to our soil.”

“That is something we want to share with other farmers too. It is quite an investment, so it isn’t suitable for everyone… but it is important. If you damage your soil when sowing in spring, you will not be able to correct that for the whole growing season.”

More hands-on experiences can be seen in these videos of Tracks on a Fendt tractor during leek harvest in Belgium or on a Agrifac beet harvester from an agricultural contractor  in the Netherlands.