We, Pauline and Wilco Klein Teeselink, are since April 2014 the proud owners of a dairy farm in Ribe, South Jyland.
I, Wilco, come originally from a dairy farm in Sallandse Holten, where my oldest brother inherited the company of my father. Pauline has no agricultural background, but has completed the training Paardenhouderij in 2001 at the International Agricultural College Larenstein. During training in Deventer we have met and have been together ever since. I graduated in 2000, specialization Dairy.
The ambition to be a dairy farmer has always been there, the only question was where? France fell off, partly because of the language, Canada and America fell off due to the fact that it was way too expensive and East Germany doesn’t have quite the right feel to us. With only a little capital, we had to look for a different solution.
Which was found in 2003 in Germany, in a farm house near Osnabrück. After 10 years of experience in here and now in the possession of a small amount of capital, we wanted to make the move to own are very own company. In Germany it was not possible for us to find a suitable company. Other countries fell away, sometimes for practical reasons, but also because of emotional concerns. Denmark was the only country where we were both excited about. Also, our modest capital was hysr enough to an equivalent company if what we had to buy in Germany.
And so we went in the summer of 2013, after we had been a week with our family in Denmark on holiday, looking for suitable companies. In addition, we sought the help of Interfarms. First we made a trip orienting on Denmark. Only in order to see the different parts of the country. During this trip, of course, we have also seen some companies.
Ultimately our eyes fell on the company in Ribe. Here is a good house with enough bedrooms for our four children. This was a requirement for us. It was important that our children would feel right at home. The company is located near Ribe and Skaerbaek. Two fairly large place where everything is to be found like education, shopping, social events, etcetera. We wanted the kids to have an easy connection to schools and sports clubs and would therefore not ‘live in the middle of nowhere’.
At the company is sufficient land and the buildings are in good condition. We did not want to make investments ourselves in the coming years. We’ve been here now for half a year and we are still very happy with our choice. The children feel at home and the company is fine.
We need to work hard to keep everything going, but we are certain that we will succeed!
Mange hilsen!
Wilco and Pauline Small Teeselink
