family background/ Paul is a fourth-generation farmer working on his 100-year-old family farm located in the Netherlands’ Gelderland province. He is the son of Margriet and Berend Jan van Westreenen and is working with his sister, Martine, on the farm.
age/ 23
hometown/ Echteld, Netherlands
crops/ apples, pears
role/ junior manager
business/ Fruitbedrijf van Westreenen
How did you start on the farm?
Since I was a kid, I was always interested in my father’s company. My parents joke that my first word when I was a baby was ‘tractor.’ As a child, I’d be with dad, sitting with him in the tractor, watching him drive during the day and night. I learned that on the farm, you always have an opportunity, and it’s always changing. It’s exciting to wonder how we are going to take that opportunity this year: Are we going to do it like last year? Or some other year? This year, you may face a lot of rain, or maybe a lot of sun. That is something that motivates me to work at the company. It’s also nice to work with my father, living a positive life and earning a good living from the work.
What did you learn from going to college?
College was a chance for me to do some socializing and speak with other people about how they work together. I learned a lot about pest management and saw how other companies do things. Another thing was learning how to live with your money, what you must buy and how you pay for labor and new machines. These lessons are important. Before I went to college, I could only see what is at our own company. It was easy to think ‘I’m the smartest, I’m the best.’ But when you go into college, you see other companies and you learn about them, learn about what machines they use, such as sprayers or cutting machines, and how they use them.
What is your farm like and what is farming like in the Netherlands?
Our company has about 72 hectares, which is quite big; a normal company is like 20 to 25 hectares. We are one of the biggest growers of Kanzi (Nicoter) in the country. We sell our apples through the FruitMasters cooperative, which packs, cools and distributes the fruit for us. Operating an apple company in the Netherlands is very expensive for any farm over 20 hectares. You need a lot of money to pay for chemicals, petrol, labor and machines.
What do you enjoy about working on the farm?
I want to take care of the trees. That’s my motivation. The business side is good for my father and sister. She’s very good with administration, and it’s really nice for all of us to be working together. I look forward to growing the company beyond 100 hectares. That’s my dream, because my family started this farm from 2 hectares, my granddad grew it to 23 and my father to 72.
What technology are you finding useful?
We have a lot of rain, so about five years ago we brought in a leaf blower, and it’s helped us get higher-quality, redder apples. And when they are redder, we can pick more apples. Otherwise, they end up going into products like apple juice. With Kanzi, before the leaf blower, we’d have a crew of 60 people working for two weeks to remove the leaves from the trees. Kanzi needs light on the apples. Now, with the leaf blower, we have one person driving the tractor and covering about one hectare in 2 to 3 hours to get beautiful light interception.
What advice do you have for other young growers?
I’d say go to school and see other companies. It’s really important. If you can, travel to other farms in New Zealand, Australia, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Washington. If you do, there are so many opportunities to see beautiful apples, and it will motivate you to improve your farm and company.
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