The Farmer
Agnes Greggersen cannot imagine a life without cows. Despite all the difficulties, for her, being a farmer is the best job in the world.
“Smaragd, Wilde or Primadonna – all 120 of the Angeln cows on our farm have names suited to their characters. Each one is part of the Greggersen family, I’ve never known it any other way. My father was really proud that even as a child, I knew I wanted to be a farmer.
After completing my apprenticeship and studying agricultural sciences, I worked on a cattle farm in Australia to broaden my horizons and prepare to take over the 130-hectare family farm. I love my work but I don’t see it through rose-tinted glasses. I can see that agriculture will keep changing – I only have to look at how the farm was in my grandfather’s and father’s time. We farmers will have to face plenty of challenges. I’m still optimistic though and see change as an opportunity. Perhaps there will soon be farms that offer insects for people’s consumption? Or we farmers will be able to live from environmental measures and continue production?
To ensure our farm survives in the future, it’s important to me to keep up to date with agricultural trends and developments. That means buying technology like two milking robots, which are automatically activated when the cows want to be milked, giving us more time to take care of other things, and is more relaxing for the animals. Another innovation is that we invite visitors to our farm, to come and relax in the countryside. Offering vacations is part of our strategy and how we position ourselves as a family farm: Diversification makes sense. That’s currently not on offer, given the pandemic, but I have faith that we’ll find our way out of the crisis.
I love how things change every day outdoors and the versatility of my work: I’m on a tractor in the morning watching a beautiful sunrise, welcoming a new calf or having a beer with my colleagues in the evening after a demanding day. It’s not the right job if you like being alone; teamwork makes all the difference, and being able to rely on each other at all times. I’m also active in social media and promote farming as a way of life on Facebook and Instagram. Like for people in cities, my smartphone is my constant companion.”