Ronald Smit (22) has already gained a lot of experience in dairy farming and now applies his knowledge within his internship at Boerenbusiness, coordinating the Roughage Tour. The contact with the various participants has given him energy. "Just visit the farmers, get a tour and discuss the daily work or problems; I find that interesting!"
How did you come to Boerenbusiness justifiably?
"I have decided to organize my last year of training in such a way that I am busy with school in the months of November to April, so that I can work in the summer period. I was looking for an internship for this and roughage has always been my I have already come across the vacancy for an internship on Facebook once and after a feed representative at my work also pointed it out to me, I went for it! I certainly do not regret it. develop in my communication, increase my network and improve my writing style. I was able to apply a lot of knowledge from my education in a beautiful way during my internship, especially technically."
What were you doing during the internship?
"I mainly worked on the Roughage Tour. I really liked the freedom I had in this. I was allowed to approach it how I wanted to or in the way that I thought was right; in fact, always with full support from Boerenbusiness and Limagrain – partner of the Roughage Tour. On an internship day, I first checked what was current with the farmers and then elaborated on that. This is very diverse and interesting! It is most beautiful that you can see the differences between companies. No farmer is alike; fortunately not, otherwise it would be very boring here. I also gained insight into what I will or will not do in the future within such a company. Once again, I also loved getting a behind-the-scenes look at Boerenbusiness to throw."
What experiences do you have with the team?
"Within Boerenbusiness there is a very diverse team active; there are many different views! It is a pleasant and friendly team. Everyone is equal, even if you are here as an intern. There are editors here who write articles that you can argue with, but you can also easily drop by to chat and ask for tips. You have the feeling that they are really interested in you, which is nice!"
How do you see the future for you?
"I hope to graduate in April 2023. After that I will continue to work in the Netherlands for about a year and then I will go abroad. I only have one thing in mind and that is to become a farmer! Preferably in the Netherlands, but that is simply not easy for me. I no longer have a business in the family at home and then find something more often… That is why my focus is on foreign countries: Scandinavia, Sweden in particular. There the politics is different, they want to keep a future in dairy farming , there are more agricultural subsidies and regulations and land prices are lower. Will it be easy? No. Can it be done? Yes, it is! It's worth a try for me there; I can't do my own thing here. It's quite possible that after a year I decide not to emigrate if I have found something here. But one thing is certain: as soon as I am outside among the cows, I am happy!"
What did you think of the internship?
"If I look at how often during the week I already say at the farm where I work: oh yes, we had on my internship ... It's a lot, I don't know exactly how to describe the influence it has on my future. I am sure that everything I have learned, seen or heard here will all come back in the future and I can use my knowledge. I was able to build a network, I learned a lot and it was fun. I learned something about how markets develop and what things are related to. I'm glad I chose this internship! That's why I recommend an internship at Boerenbusiness so definitely on. It's a warm bath, you come in nice, you learn a lot and you don't have to worry about being a number within the company. You count here and everyone is very free and open!"
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