The Citizen, 1989-06-21, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 1989. PAGE 5.
Dutch youth experience Canadian farming
BY LISA BOONSTOPPEL
Almost 40 years ago, Canada opened
its border to thousands of Dutch immi
grants who were escaping the dead
economy in Holland after World War II.
Canada was seen as the land of promise
and many Dutchmen settled in the Blyth
area to farm.
Now, Canada is helping many young
Dutch farmers to discover if Canada still
is the land of promise. These adventurous
youths enter Canada through specially
designed programs to either escape a
bleak future in Holland, experience
another culture, or delve into the Cana
dian style of farming.
There are five young Dutchmen in the
Blyth area that came through the
Agrarian Youth Farming Training Pro
gram, a program that allows them to
enter Canada and work on a farm for a
year. The program gives them the
necessary work permits to work here -
permits that are difficult to obtain
otherwise.
The young farmers here are: Freddy
Pot from Lutten, Overysel who works for
Art Bos of Blyth; Gerrit VanDrie from
Nijkerk, Gelderland and Jannes Meijer-
ink from Dalerveen, Drenthe who works
for John Weirsma of Blyth; Harke Jan
Wolters of Oldehovel, Groningen who
works for Seip Bosma of Blyth and Jan
deWeerd of Lutten, Overysel who works
for Hans Boonstoppel of Auburn.
Some of these boys came to Canada to
broaden their horizons. “I wanted to
experience another culture while working
on a farm,” explained Gerrit. Others like
Jannes, wanted job experience. “I want
ed to see a different style of farming,
specifically dairy farming,” he said.
Harke Jan said ‘‘I heard a lot of stories
Farming in Holland:
a
BY USA BOONSTOPPEL
Tales of the “Old Country” abound in
the homes of Dutch immigrants. These
nostalgic remembrances of a different
life arouse a curiosity in their Canadian-
born offspring. This curiousity can only
be quenched with a visit to this foreign
land.
So when 21-year-old Wayne Bos from
Auburn was offered a chance to work in
Took part in Dutch-Ontario College
Exchange Program.
Jan deWeerd
A young Dutchman experiencing
Canadian farming.
about Canada so I was curious about this
country,” and Freddy wanted to try new
things.
But all the boys, with the exception of
Jannes who has a family farm to return
to, come here for a very important reason
- there is no agriculture future for them in
Holland.
Canadian perspective
College Exchange Program, he took it.
“It was a deal of a lifetime,” said
Wayne, “my plane ticket was paid for, I
didn’t lose any money, plus I saw a
different culture and experienced a
lot.”
The program, which has been can
celled due to insufficient interest,
provided the students wth plane tickets,
the passport and work permit. The
students then stayed in Holland for
about three months to work on a farm
for $40 a week plus room and board
explained Doug Jamieson, the General
Manager of Education Programs for the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and
Food.
Wayne was placed on a dairy farm in
Soest, Utrecht. The farm had about 70
dairy cattle and some pigs said Wayne.
Wayne found the farms were differ
ent there from Canada. “It’s easier to
farm in Holland,” he said, “although
we have the same technology, they
utilize it more in Holland.”
He also liked the custom work in the
country. “It’s nicer because you have
more time for yourself and for the cows.
Sometimes here the cows don’t get that
because you’re working in the fields.”
More time was saved with slatted
floor barns, said Wayne. “When you
have slats, you don’t have to clean out
the barn which leaves more time for
everything else,” he said. “I only saw
one barn in Holland that didn’t have
slats.”
Wayne also discovered that the
people were different. “I think some
people have a narrow vision in Canada.
They won’t look into the advantages of
free-stall bams or different opera
tions.” He said the people in Holland
eagerly look at different farming prac
tices.
Learning how to trim hooves and
about computer feeding systems were
added bonuses to the work experience.
‘You learn a lot going away and even if
what you learn isn’t practical to use in
Canada, it gives you a wider scope of
experience,” said Wayne.
Wayne went to Holland last year in
May and returned last summer to work
for his dad, John Bos. on their farm,
Bos Acres.
Dutch workers
Involved in the exchanges that allow Dutch youth to work in Canada are.
(clockwise) Francis Wagner (seated), Jannes Meijerink, Harke Jan Wolters,
Freddy Pot, Gerrit VanDrie and Jan deWeerd.
The reason is because of strict quota
systems and government pressure. Hol
land has a very serious problem. The
country cannot handle all the waste
livestock produce, so the Dutch govern
ment has placed restrictions on the
number of cattle a farmer can have
according to how much land he owns.
This was done to control animal waste
and started in 1985 when the concern was
raised that manure was seeping into the
groundwater. If farmers don’t abide by
the Manure Quota, they are fined.
This, plus the emergence of a milk
quota system in 1983, makes dairy
farming a complicated and expensive
business in Holland. When the Dutch
government decided to have a milk quota
system, they gave it to farmers according
to how many cattle they owned at that
time. The quota cannot be bought
separately because it is directly tied to
the land. If a farmer wants more quota,
he has to buy more land. The government
started this milk quota system because
there was a surplus of milk in the country
that was becoming very expensive to
store.
If farmers ship more milk than their
quota, they are fined. “I couldn’t start
my own farm in Holland, because I don't
have enough money for quota,’ said
Freddy.
These quota systems stemmed fron
overcrowding. For example, Paul and
Jeanette Buitenhuis from Blyth recently
immigrated to Canada from Holland. In
Holland, they had 40 head of cattle on 28
acres. They now farm 40 cattle on 150
acres.
The Dutch government is now taking
action in the agriculture industry. “The
government wants to get rid of the small,
family farms,” said Mr. Buitenhuis,
“they want large farms in Holland.” A
recent article in Boerderij, a Dutch
farming magazine stated that Holland
now has 60,000 farms and plans by the
year 2001, to have only 20,000 farms
translated Mr. Buitenhuis.
With this cutback of farms and the
strict quota systems, the chances of
starting a farm in Holland are nearly
impossible. For hopeful young farmers
who want to buy a farm, their only chance
for success is to leave Holland.
“Even to work as a hired hand in
Holland is difficult,” said Mrs. Buiten
huis. “Many farmers cannot afford a
hired hand because they have to pay
wages to the man and an equal amount in
taxes to the government for hiving the
hired man.” The tax system is different
in Holland and makes a hired hand an
expensive commodity.
However, in Canada, there is ample
opportunity for these young Dutchmen to
work in agriculture where local farmers
are finding it difficult to hire Canadian
boys. “I advertised for a year and a half
in the newspaper and I couldn’t get a boy
that worked out,” said Mr. Weirsma.
“There are so many other jobs with
better hours for young people ” explain
'd Mrs Weirsma. Better hours and
better pay can be found in construction
jobs, which are plentiful in this area,
leaving farmers stuck for help.
The Dutch workers are welcomed by
these employers. “They’re also wanted
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