The beet campaign has already been underway for a month. A busy period during which the beets are collected from the field, loaded and taken to the factory in Hoogkerk. During the day and at night, drivers drive back and forth with full trucks filled with sugar beets. And that doesn’t always happen without a fight; two beet wagons recently overturned in the north.
But despite the risks, it is the highlight of the year for many. When 20-year-old Wesley Stoffers has to answer the question ‘what is the beet campaign actually?’, he laughs. “Yes, the most beautiful thing there is!”, he says as he slams the door of his truck.
Stoffers is a driver and is driving the beet campaign for the third time in his career. “We are now going to a beet plant in Emmen, where we will load,” he says as he turns onto narrow country roads. “Now it gets exciting!”
According to Stoffers, transporting beets is really a profession in itself. “I load about 36 tons, so 36,000 kilos of beets. You are top heavy, so you have to drive slowly. Especially don’t take roundabouts too fast, otherwise it won’t work.” Along the way he shows how attentive you have to be. “You have to make sure you don’t hit anything and don’t get into the mud with the truck itself. You can still pull the trailer a little, but if your truck gets stuck, you’re screwed.”
The ride continues to Hoogkerk, where the beets are unloaded at the sugar factory. On the weighbridge, Stoffers first checks the weight: “I now weigh 51.6 tons. The transporter gets paid per ton, so this is important.”
A sample must then be taken from the load. “You don’t want beets with mold to get mixed up with the rest,” he explains. “Then you can no longer see whether the beets are good or not. If you let them know, they will unload them separately. Then you don’t have to worry about anything anymore.”
Then it’s time for the most beautiful moment of the ride: the tipping. “Then the tipper goes up and you see the beets flowing out.” A little later the last beet rolls out. “I do this all day,” says Wesley, laughing. “Close it, back to the business, and on again.”
The beet campaign will run until the end of January. It’s long days for drivers like Stoffers, but he’s fine with it. “I love it. Just step on the gas, it’s the most beautiful thing there is.”