Description
The land around Nye is being brought into cultivation and people of all kinds and nationalities have a place on Vasen Farm
When Kjell and his brother Per took over Vasen, it produced 14 thousand kg of milk. Today the level is around 6.2 million kg. There have been several driving forces behind this. An important goal in farm expansion was to help other people. Managing staff is a high priority, while at the same time operations must be lean. It is important to be able to achieve comparable results to similar enterprises.
There are various external activities on the farm: building, painting and plumbing services, and, not least, excavator services. Everything is connected, with a lot of building over the years. Fields have been merged together and overgrown land has been cleared and brought into cultivation again. This has resulted in rational arable fields and open semi-natural grassland.
Having more contact with consumers increases pleasure in the work. A hundred tonnes of cheese with Vasen’s own label are sold every year, as one way to increase the value of the milk. Everything is connected – the attractive semi-natural grassland combined with cheese making hopefully give a positive outlook for farming.
Reason for the innovation
Open land and staff development
Kjell and his family see opportunities instead of obstacles. Land has been brought into use and rationalised. This has allowed the farm to expand and create an attractive landscape. It is always important to involve the staff.
Farm description
Environment
- Soil types: Sandy loam, sand and peat soils
- Climate: Temperate continental climate
- Altitude: 200 m a.s.l
- Slope: 2 %
- The farm is located in Småland, south-east Sweden.
Grassland management
- Grazing: Yes
- Temporary grassland based on red clover, white clover, timothy, meadow fescue and perennial ryegrass. Tall fescue has been tested for grazing. Forage is harvested as silage.
Structure
- Annual Work Unit: 13, plus the family.
- 700 ha arable land area, of which
- 500 ha temporary grassland area.
- 400 ha semi-natural grassland area.
Animal performance
- 540 dairy cows (Holstein and Swedish Red), producing 11,800 kg milk per year.
- 70 suckler cows (Simmental).
- 80 beef-cross heifers reared for slaughter, which graze the semi-natural grassland.
Why it is working
“Since childhood, I wanted to be involved in providing jobs for people with special needs and I also wanted to expand milk production in an area where the land could have been allowed to return to nature.” At the same time, farm finances are monitored during expansion, which is done e.g. by participating in different groups and comparing the results.
