Dutch import working well in New Zealand

An 18-year-old agri-business student has travelled thousands of miles to gain world-class agricultural marketing experience at CRV AmBreed.

Imre Oostveen says that her qualification, ‘International Agribusiness and Trade’, requires her to study outside the Netherlands, but that she chose New Zealand’s CRV AmBreed for our country’s reputation in the Netherlands and CRV AmBreed’s role in improving livestock genetics here. “Back home, we do business with CRV,” she says. “I think genetics are a very interesting and important part of improving cattle and that CRV AmBreed is a company in which I can learn a lot. With this education, I can become a lot of things,” says Imre. “A manager, a representative, an advisor, a farmer – there are not many things which are not possible. I don’t know what I want to do yet, there are several jobs in agribusiness which appeal to me, but I might also consider doing more study, I’m not sure yet.”

Imre arrived in New Zealand just in time to be a part of CRV AmBreed’s birthday celebrations and corporate brand relaunch. Already, she has settled into the company, going through the lab to see how semen straws are processed, visiting farms to photograph cows and working on the Herd Improvement Solutions catalogue which will be released later this month. Imre is also enjoying living in Cambridge with a CRV AmBreed staff member and has already visited the Kiwi House in Otorohanga. “I will work at CRV AmBreed for four months and after that, I am going on a 2-week New Zealand holiday with a classmate who is working in Hastings at the moment.”

Coming from a dairy farm in the north of the Netherlands, Imre has been quick to notice the differences between farming systems at home and in New Zealand. “A huge difference is how the breeding works,” she says. “At home, we milk throughout the year and feed more supplements. In Holland, cows are in stables for at least six months of the year and some Dutch farmers keep their cows in stables for the whole year. But there are similarities too; both in the Netherlands and New Zealand, the farms are getting bigger and bigger. Although the numbers are not the same – the average Dutch farmer milks only 67 dairy cows per farm – cow numbers in both countries are growing, and it is becoming more difficult for farmers to have a profitable farm”.

“Also, New Zealand dairy farmers are facing a low milk price at the moment. Over the coming years, the milk quota will be slowly abolished in Holland and the predictions are that the milk price is going to drop and that the less efficient farmers will not survive. So this is a big challenge for Dutch farmers and for New Zealand farmers.”

CRV AmBreed is offering Imre the opportunity to learn about and participate in a number of different areas of the business during her stay in New Zealand. Peter Berney, Marketing Manager for CRV AmBreed says that Imre will not only learn a lot from the organisation, which is the second-largest artificial breeding provider in the country and part of the third-largest dairy genetics organisation in the world, but will bring new insights into CRV AmBreed as well. “It’s fantastic to have Imre’s skills on board,” he says. “She has a fresh approach and her desire to make a real contribution to the company coupled with her passion for agribusiness really fit in well here.”

CRV AmBreed Managing Director, Jos Koopman, says that Imre’s internship is just one of the advantages CRV AmBreed’s ties with CRV businesses worldwide offers the local company. “CRV AmBreed is a local company with unparalleled access to global resources and technology,” he says. “Imre’s desire to come and work with CRV AmBreed really highlights this, along with the position and reputation CRV AmBreed has in the global market. We are very pleased to welcome her!”