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Jon and Caroline van Adrichem
Jon and Caroline made the move to Tasmania nine years ago. According to Jon they have achieved here in nine years what they could only have hoped to achieve in Holland in 90 years. "In Holland if we wanted to milk an extra 10 cows we had to buy five hectares as well as extra quota, both of which are very scarce", Jon says. "In Tasmania the ability to grow is pretty well unrestricted."
"We came to Tasmania for a couple of main reasons the first being the lack of "red tape" compared to Holland and the second because of the open spaces". "Tasmania is two and a half times bigger than Holland and has half a million people, Holland has 17 million people. Would you like to live in Tasmania if all the people in Australia moved here?" says Jon.
Jon and Caroline believe that the best thing they did in moving to Tasmania was to get here five months before they were due to take over the farm. "We wanted to have a good look around, and I did a lot of relief milking and while I didn't make a lot of money I certainly learned a lot. Things are done very differently here and that's for good reason. If you come here and farm as if you are back in Holland you will be in trouble."
"It is good to be at there when the kids get home from school and to sit down with them and spend time discussing any problems they have had during the settling in period. You don't want the kids to arrive home and you're milking."
From a farming point of view Jon believes that the area they are in (Togari, in the Far North West) is the best dairy country around. "We don't have to irrigate and that is a huge economic advantage. Also cows remain outside all year and we don't get heavy frosts."
When you are buying a farm Jon advises spending the extra money to get a watertight contract that covers things like the amount of feed on the farm, the condition of the cows and conserved fodder on hand. He also believes that stock and domestic water security is critical; "without water you are out of business."
Jon and Caroline sent their daughter back to Holland for six months to see which country she preferred. "Having made her own decision she's now back in Tasmanian studying at Hobart University and having a wonderful time", say Jon.
Jon and Caroline van Adrichem
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