Pelt (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A new agricultural technique using wood chips was demonstrated in Pelt for the first time in Flanders, supported by Alderman Liesbeth Fransen, aiming to improve soil and benefit farming and the environment.
As VRT News reported, a new agricultural technique was demonstrated today, Nov 5, 2025, in Pelt, in the province of Limburg, Belgium, marking its first use in Flanders. The method involves spreading wood chips gradually over fields to improve soil quality.
The trial is part of the Bodemgoud project, a collaboration between BoerenNatur Vlaanderen (Farmers Nature Flanders), the Experimental and Training Centre for Agriculture (PVL), and the Lage Kempen Regional Landscape. The municipalities of Pelt, Peer, and Hamont-Achel support the project.
What benefits does Pelt’s new wood chip farming method offer farmers and the soil?
The technique is expected to provide several benefits for farmland. Adding wood chips can increase moisture retention, boost soil fertility, and reduce the effects of drought. Experts also say it helps soil biodiversity. Organisers noted that the method is new to Flanders and could offer a practical solution for farmers facing dry conditions and soil degradation.
“By incorporating wood chips into the soil, the organic carbon content increases,”
explains Marike Gibels of PVL.
And that’s important for farmers.
“It stimulates soil life, helps the soil retain moisture longer, and allows rainwater to infiltrate more effectively. Moreover, healthy soil is not only good for crops, but also for the climate.”
The new method of using wood chips in farming does more than just spread them over fields. Farmers first use digital soil scans to find spots that need extra nutrients.
“They’re distributed with a manure spreader that has a built-in scale. The tractor spreads the wood chips gradually: more where the soil is poor, less where it’s richer. This way, every patch of land gets exactly what it needs,”
explains Jerome Rops of BoerenNatur Vlaanderen.
The wood chips come from hedgerows, rows of trees and shrubs along the edges of fields that are pruned regularly. Until now, the pruning waste has been mostly burned or sold as biomass. With the new method, this material is reused in agriculture to enrich soil, boost fertility, and improve moisture retention.
The Bodemgoud project will continue until the summer of 2026, after which the results will be carefully evaluated. If the findings are positive, the organisers hope that more farmers in Flanders will start using the wood chip technique to improve soil and crop resilience.
“We’re protecting the hedgerows and giving their residual material a new purpose,”
says Liesbeth Fransen (CD&V), alderman for agriculture in Pelt.
“This way, we’re simultaneously strengthening agriculture and allowing the municipality to dispose of its wood waste. It’s a win-win situation.”
Over the last 10 years, farmers in Flanders have been investigating ways to enhance soil. Following the testing of alternative systems for the degradation of soil fertility and drought. 2015–2016, hedgerows were primarily trimmed and sold as biomass, or removed from the hedgerow and burnt. Pilot projects set up in 2018 began to implement the concept of utilising hedgerow materials as a soil amendment in fields.
