The young farmers’ forum of the Westphalian-Lippian Agricultural Association (WLV) voted on Instagram. “The combination of a brisk slogan and the expressiveness of the photo are great and have convinced”, says Nicole Borgschulte, spokeswoman for the OWL Young Farmers Forum. The photo shows his passion for his job, his love for animals, the togetherness. “He is there with hand and heart”, says the 26-year-old Borgschulte.
Janek can only confirm that: “I am always happy when I see the animals and everyone is doing well together,” enthuses the 21-year-old young farmer.
His motif was created for a picture communication competition at his school, the Agricultural College, together with the Eastern Westphalia-Lippe Regional Agricultural Association in summer 2020. He won the second prize. Nicole Borgschulte was a member of the jury and reports that posters were developed from the total of eight winning photos in the competition. All motifs with a lively slogan will be on display in the region from spring.
Janek’s parents run a part-time farm at home, farming and raising cattle. The focus here is on keeping chickens. But the Limousins have done it to Janek personally. Limousin is a breed of cattle that originally comes from the region of the same name in central France. The characters are very calm and balanced. He likes the cattle and cows, they are his favorites. They are on the pasture from May to October. “We’re a team and each animal has its own character,” says Janek. Because they have so much space in the meadow, they are shy at first. “But over time we get used to each other and they become more and more trusting,” reports Janek. That is why he thinks the saying: “The boss is only as good as his team” is appropriate. This is provided with a twinkle in the eye and should make you smile. “But there is a lot of truth to it.”
When Janek considered which title would be appropriate for his winning photo for the poster, the phrase came to mind. The quote from the world of work also applies to other areas: in human relationships, in personal matters in general and also in dealing with animals. “Everyone only feels comfortable with each other and with respect. And only then can we all achieve a lot together, ”describes Janek.
The animals are his passion. But not only them: to be able to spend so much time in the fresh air and to be able to see every weather condition up close, that is what defines the profession of farmer for him. “It’s never boring, there is always something different every day.” He is a farmer with passion. This is also about him on the association page www.wlv.de
to read.
But the often one-sided view of agriculture gives him less pleasure. “We farmers think in terms of generations in the long term,” explains the young farmer. “We know that we are responsible for animals, people and nature.” It is important to him to explain how “we work, look after our animals and live and manage our farm”.
Public relations work is extremely important to the profession and to the next generation of agriculture: “We know and have understood that we have no future without social acceptance,” emphasizes the chairman of the Höxter agricultural district association, Antonius Tillman. “We understand that as people move further away from agriculture, from the production of food, consumers no longer have this knowledge. We want to explain and enlighten. ”And there are many possibilities and paths here. Everyone can get involved – whether in communication with consumers, with schools, kindergartens, in local politics, in social media or in direct dialogue, explains Tillmann: “For more social understanding and togetherness, for a wonderful job and for a future in agriculture.”
All current posters of the Agricultural District Association OWL can be seen and ordered at www.wlv.de/generation-zukunft/
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