On Monday 6 August 2012 the board of the foundation and its steward Mr Eddy Oostra paid a visit to the tenants of the foundation. This lease inspection had not been taken place since 1987. Since then the farms, all located in Friesland, has been taken over by younger tenants. So it was realy time to pay a new visit to the tenants and their farms.
The visit was organised by Mr Eddy Oostra and provided for a visit of the tenant in Rijs in the morning. In the afternoon visits were paid to the tenant in Abbega and the tenant in the neighbourhood of Zweins. In the afternoon some time was spent on a lunch at a restaurant near the Galamadammen.
Something about the weather on 6 Augustus 2012. Various types of weather that day passed by. There was a rain front in lying over Friesland in the longitudinal direction. Heavy rains were interspersed with sunny spells. In the course of the afternoon the weather became much better. When visiting the tenant near Zweins it appeared that the area had problems coping with all the water that had been coming down all day.
The reception by the tenants and their relatives was very hospitable and warm. At the kitchentabels a variety of topics was discussed. The tenants spoke about their farm, their plans, the ‘vapourising’ of the milk qouta, differences in milk prices, good and not so good milk companies, ground prices, manure disposal and succession issues. Mr Eddy Oostra acted as an expert host. One of the members of the board, Mr Erik Meijer, reveiled that he had working experience in farming so he was able to aks substantive questions. Above all the visits were dominated by getting acguainted and sociability.
Fixed part of each visit was the tour on the farm. The stables, milk machines and of course the cattle were jointly examined. The real lease inspection had begun.
This cow is disturbed at his meal. Who is inspecting who?
The tenants gave information about the food, silage or fresh grass, and the effects of this choise on the livestock. They talked about stabling the cattle and the milk companies which encourage farmers to send their cattle out in the fields by paying a little bit more money per liter milk produced. The difference between silage and fresh grass is clearly displayed when you compare the pictures above and below.
One of the stables during one of the tours.
The tenant nearby Zweins and the boardmembers particular discussed the land on which in the past a mansion was located. This mansion was owned by a Mr Kingma. A grove and a the erratic plots are the visible testimonies of this mansion.
The grove in the neighbourhood of Zweins.
The board wishes to thank the tenants and spouses and of course Mr Eddy Oostra for this succesful day. There is no reason to think of why the next lease inspection will have to wait for another 25 years.
