This tour is now sold out
The North American Strawberry Growers Association has organized a three day tour that will focus on strawberries as well as other small fruit production and marketing activities.
The tour will be based in The Netherlands and participants will have accommodations at Van der Valk Hotel’s Hertogenbosch – Vught. The most convenient airport would be in Amsterdam. Participants will be expected to arrange and cover the cost of transportation to and from the hotel. Options for travel between the Amsterdam airport and the hotel will be provided.
Registered tour guests will be provided 4 nights’ accommodation as well as lunches during the three days of touring. Breakfast and dinner will be on your own. The cost of registering is anticipated to be $600 per person based on double occupancy.
Participants are asked to find their way to the host hotel Van der Valk Hotel Hertogenbosch – Vught for the evening of Tuesday November 6th.
We will provide some different travel options to participants on how to get to the hotel from the Amsterdam airport. Travel by train is quite easy and gets you very close to the hotel in Hertogenbosch.
Tuesday November 6, 2018
Meet at Van der Valk Hotel Hertogenbosch – Vught.
Accommodations provided
Wednesday November 7, 2018
Day 1 of Tour – return to Van der Valk Hotel Hertogenbosch for overnight accommodations
Thursday November 8, 2018
Day 2 of Tour - return to Van der Valk Hotel Hertogenbosch for overnight accommodations
Friday November 9, 2018
Day 3 and final day of the tour - return to Van der Valk Hotel Hertogenbosch for overnight accommodations
Saturday November 10, 2018
On your own to travel and explore!
Coöperatie Hoogstraten
Coöperatie Hoogstraten CV is a marked presence in the horticultural sector, both in Belgium and abroad. Innovation is coupled with a continuous concern for quality, in products as well as in service. The cooperative has not only built a reputation in strawberries, but also in other berries and greenhouse vegetables. We target growth of the horticulture sector in a healthy and profitable business climate. Not every product benefits from the same sales technique. But the aim is always the same: sell at the best possible price, in total transparency. That is why we use both clock auctions and intermediary sales. We will be very pleased to welcome you to Hoogstraten.
Research Centre Hoogstraten
Research Centre Hoogstraten (PCH) is located north of Antwerp in the middle of an important horticultural area. Since its foundation in 1955 the centre plays an active role in the development and growth of horticulture in the region. Continuously carrying out new investments has made the growth of the centre possible to its current state of a modern and performant research institution. Only recently a renewal of 15.700 m² glasshouse and infrastructure was realized, which allows research in a scientific and accurate manner.
Research Centre Hoogstraten is specialized in the cultivation in glasshouses (strawberry, tomato, pepper) and strawberry cultivation in open air (in soil and on tabletops). Practical and demonstrative research in these cultures delivers information and answers to questions from professional horticultural companies and growers. In collaboration with other research institutions different programs can be initiated to solve more fundamental problems in the above mentioned cultures. The transfer of trial results towards the growers and other scientific groups is an important challenge for the Research Centre.
To attend to roughly 220 strawberry growers the Research Centre has a Consultancy Team Strawberry which delivers professional advice inland and abroad. One of the major strengths of the team is its close interaction with the ongoing research at the Research Centre, this way the advice given by the Consultancy team can always be backed up with objectively obtained trial results. The team combines years of experience with youthful dynamism and delivers necessary input in the setup of trials in the research program.
Horticulture is one of the engines of the economic development and prosperity in the region. Research Centre Hoogstraten wants to act as a backbone in accomplishing this continuous evolution through its research program, consultancy and horticultural services.
Frank van Alphen
Van Alphen Strawberry Plants was originally a small family company which specialized in the production of strawberries. In the early 80’s Van Alphen started with the commercial propagation of strawberry plants. Since 1996 Van Alphen has stopped the production of strawberries and is fully specialized in the propagation of Strawberry Plants.
We are a medium size propagator, specializing in strawberry plants. It is a closed company that has all its crop stages in house. Currently we have 20 different varieties in our range. Every year we buy about 280 new plants from the original stock of the NAKT and in 3 years we multiply 22.000.000 plants from it.
Meteor Systems
Meteor Systems produces high quality and innovative growing and irrigation systems. We produce growing gutters, movable growing systems and irrigation systems designed by specific needs of growers worldwide. Transport systems, fastening systems and even tunnel systems complete our product range. This way we are capable of designing, producing and delivering a total package. We don’t say “Who chooses growth, chooses Meteor Systems!” without reason.
BVB Substrates
BVB substrates is a worldwide supplier of growing media for the horticultural industry including soft fruits, mushrooms, landscape, tree nursery and retail sector. Our quality substrates are being used in over 80 countries to grow (young) plants, vegetables, flowers, shrubs and trees.
Our state of the art packaging lines allow us to produce growing media in bags ranging from 3 liters up to 200 liters. We also offer big bales, these bales reach a volume of up to 6m3. We are sure to meet our customers’ needs with our wide range of packaging possibilities.
Innovation is a core value of BVB Substrates, new products and concepts are developed and commercially launched. This process is controlled by our R&D (Research and development) department with 2 in-house laboratories. The production of growing media is under strict control of this department as well. Customers of BVB Substrates receive only top quality substrates – a successful foundation of growth.
All these qualities make BVB Substrates to a reliable partner in the soft fruit industry. All substrates used for soft fruit production have been developed based on years of experience, multiple trials and feedback from researchers, advisors and growers. We can supply the right substrate for every cultivation method and system and for every type of grower. With over 30 years of experience in soft fruit substrates, BVB Substrates has evolved into THE substrate expert in the soft fruit industry. As world leader in innovations in soft fruit production, we have also taken the initiative, in cooperation with Delphy, to bring the whole soft fruit industry together in our yearly International Soft Fruit Conference.
Schrijnwerkers
Our company is one of the largest and most modern blueberry companies of Holland. For decades our family company, which is now in the second generation, grows quality blueberry fruits and -plants. The head office is based in Grubbenvorst (near Venlo).
In 2005 we started a new blueberry company. This company is situated in Weeze, Germany, about 200 meters from the Dutch border. The size of this blueberry plantation is 75 hectares. All the blueberries we produce, we sell, pack, and ship in our own packing company.
In 2017 we have separated the propagation completely from the fruit production on a new nursery in Overloon. Here we grow blueberry plants in pots on an 8 hectare lavacontainer field and 5000m2 of glasshouse. We have the whole chain of propagation on our own nursery, starting from micropropagation up to ready-to-use mature plants. We are constantly trialing and testing new varieties and new growing methods.
Van Acht Koel- & Vriesopslag (Cooling and Freezing Storage)
Van Acht is specialized in cold storage of food and non-food. They offer a complete service of climate controlled storage and logistics. They have 10.000 m2 of climate controlled storage, divided over 50 coolers/freezers. Cooler size vary from 10 to 1000 pallet-spaces. Van Acht is one of the major players in the storage of soft fruit plants.
Van Acht has specialized in CATT treatment of strawberry plants. CATT stands for Controlled Atmosphere Temperature Treatment and is an environmental friendly treatment against f.i. Tarsonemud mite.
Genson
The van Gennip Group combines breeding/propagation/production packaging and sales all in one hand. In total they manage around 500 hectares, divided over 13 locations. They have 32 hectares of glasshouses, 70 hectares of table top strawberry systems, 50 hectares container field for the propagation of trayplants, 50 hectares of raspberry/blackberry longcane plant production. In 2018 they opened a new packhouse for the packaging of their own year-round grown 4500 metric tons of strawberries and 150 tons of raspberries. Alongside that, they produce 120 hectares of leek.
They are preferred premium supplier of AH (Netherlands biggest retail chain). The soft fruit plants are sold all over Europe and beyond. They have their own accommodation to house 500 employees. Most of the mechanization is in house to develop and build machinery
Willy Bonnacker
Just across the border in Germany. A family owned farm with the whole range of strawberries, from open field soil plantings, over raised substrate beds up to tunnels and glasshouse production. Also raspberries and asparagus.
