Where grass and maize still grow for their cows, there will soon be solar panels. Dairy farmers Joop and Marja Westerveld are making a new start in Stadskanaal in view of their retirement.
It is now their seventh cow to exceed 100,000 liters of milk. It is not unique, but it is still a special milestone for dairy farmers Joop and Marja Westerveld from Stadskanaal. Because Aukje 11 is also their last cow to cross the magical hundred ton mark.
The last cows will leave the door at the end of this month. The land has been sold to a developer and the Westervelds are taking a different tack. Once the solar panels have been installed, which could take a few years, they will continue in arable farming.
Fixed rhythm of livestock farming suddenly disappears, ‘but now we have time to cycle’
,,It feels strange,” says Maria. The barn where there were still 130 cows until four weeks ago is now half empty. Suddenly they have a sea of free time. “We are not used to that at all,” says Joop. “As a cow farmer you have such a fixed rhythm, you are busy with your animals 24/7. It’s fading a bit now and will soon be completely gone. Well, now you have time for other things. Cycling, for example. That’s our new hobby: yesterday we toured another 25 kilometers.”
They have been living towards this turning point for some time now. Over two years ago, a number of things suddenly coincided. The youngest of their four children seemed determined to take over the dairy business. But after a year at the agricultural college in Dronten, he chose a different direction in life: he is now almost finished with his mechanical engineering studies in Groningen.
As a child, Member of Parliament Lisa came to stay with grandpa and grandma Westerveld in the summer
Around the same time, the Stadskanaalster municipal council came up with serious plans for a large solar park in the rural area where the Westervelds have been farming since they came over from Aalten in the Achterhoek in 1986. At the time, Joop was still in a partnership with his parents, who still live in the Noorderdiep area. Joop’s niece, GroenLinks Member of Parliament Lisa Westerveld, came to stay with grandpa and grandma every summer as a child.
Space has now been reserved for solar panels up to the municipal border with Veendam. The plans brought uncertainty about the company’s future prospects, precisely at a time when Westerveld was faced with a number of major investments. “Then you start thinking. Our milking robots need to be replaced, the barn equipment is worn out: do you want to fully invest in it again if there is no successor ready?”
Solar park developers accelerated the thinking process
When the solar park developers came forward, everything accelerated. “We have had several parties ask whether they could rent or buy the land. In the end, we sold the full 62 hectares two years ago, with the agreement that we could continue to farm here until the solar panels are actually installed. I am now 62 years old and fit enough so I don’t want to stop yet. Dairy cattle would be a difficult business, so we are now switching to arable farming: I will grow potatoes, beets, grain and onions with a colleague from the neighbourhood.”
His choice is not only welcomed by colleagues. “Sometimes you get called on it, yes. ‘There goes our beautiful farmland’, they say. And I understand that too. There is still less and less space left for farming. But on the other hand, we all want to move towards a sustainable future. And the power for our smartphones and computers has to come from somewhere.”
‘Stopping remains difficult, but choosing a new direction feels good’
,,The decision still feels good,” they both say. ,,However difficult it is”, admits Joop. “But at some point you have to take the plunge. I would have loved to continue milking until retirement and then hand over the business to my successor. But that’s just not the case. And we’ve had some really good years here.”
And he still runs a thriving business. ,,I started with my father with 55 cows and 26 hectares of land, and look where we are now. It is a good feeling that we can put an end to it in such a way. That is not given to everyone. Many colleagues have collapsed or are forced to stop. When I look at the uncertainty in which many farmers are now, stuck between The Hague and the bank, I think we are making the right choice.”
2023-08-07 17:50:00
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