As a farmer today, how do you ensure that your company remains strong, innovative and future-oriented, so that you can pass it on to your heirs? Two Drenthe companies show that it is possible. They won the national election tonight Strongest farm in the Netherlands.
One of the winning companies is run by Geertje Enting and Albert Jan Knijp. They farm in the middle of the Drentsche Aa nature reserve, 150 meters from a Natura 2000 area. The duo won the jury prize for Strongest Erf.
Geertje Enting is very happy about the election. “It is always special to win something, but especially when it concerns something that you work on every day with full energy. As a farmer you are constantly busy with your business.”
According to her, the profit is mainly due to their original and positive way of thinking. “Being a farmer is sometimes quite complicated. There are many rules to protect nature, and rightly so, but it does make our work more challenging.”
“But we don’t give up on it,” she continues. “We really enjoy researching how we can combine agriculture, soil, water and nature as best as possible. That is why we are also conducting a field trial to see how we can feed our crops in such a way that nature is inconvenienced as little as possible.”
The jury agrees. She especially praises how Enting and Knijp combine their business with care for nature. They pay attention to the soil and the landscape, and openly say what is going well and what could be improved, according to the jury.
Enting and Knijp hope to continue doing this for a long time, although the follow-up is already ready. “Our children are now 16, 18 and 20. We want them to complete their education first; we don’t push them. But they are already happy to help on the farm. And as long as we stay healthy, we will continue for a while.”
Not only the jury presented a prize; the public was also allowed to vote in a separate election. And once again the main prize went to Drenthe: Jan and Baukje Brouwer from Nijeveen received it.
The Brouwers run a dairy and beef farm and the jury particularly praises how firmly their company is in society. They regularly open their yard for open days and their farm shop has grown into a real meeting place for the entire village.