From Holland to Canada, plan in hand
This young Dutch producer learned the ropes in three provinces over five years. Today, he's farming in Alberta - and loving it.
One day last December, Christiaan Goselink got the phone call he'd long dreamed of.
On the phone was agricultural real estate agent Jac Theelen, describing a dairy farm he'd found for sale near Eckville in central Alberta. Theelen told Goselink that the 130-cow free-stall operation was the perfect place to make his move to Canada a permanent one. By May 1, the deal was done.
For Goselink, finding the right farm was the culmination of five years of hard work and diligent planning. Born and raised on the family dairy farm in Holland, he moved to Canada in 2002, milking for a producer near Tillsonburg, Ont. The experience opened his eyes to the possibilities of farming in a new country.
"You have so much space here, and not so many rules about farming," says Goselink. "In Holland, the farmers spend more time on paperwork than they do on farming."
"I made an agreement with a large vegetable farm," says Beckwith. "They had a six-year rotation going, with two years in hay, which they weren't that interested in. I approached them about making hay."
Heading west
After one year in Ontario, with his visa expiring, Goselink returned to the home farm in Holland for a year. He moved back to Canada just as soon as he could, this time choosing to work on a dairy farm near Saskatoon, Sask. After a year, he moved to central Alberta, where he spent the next two years working for two farmers, relief-milking for six others and looking for the right opportunity to buy and settle down.
His realtor was right. For Goselink, the Eckville farm fit the bill. With capacity for 130 cows in a free-stall setup, he's currently milking 66 and gradually adjusting the operation to suit his own preferences.
"It's an older farm, from the 1970s, but it's good to operate," says Goselink. "You have to expect a few problems when you're starting up. People have told me that when you buy a farm you spend the first two years working out the problems, so I'm ready for that."
Having grown up in the Dutch dairy business, and now with four years' experience in Canada, Goselink sees the differences in farming between the two countries. He sees Dutch farmers as typically more aggressive, and generally quicker to adopt new production technologies like robotic milking. On the other hand, he believes that having a stable milk price brings many business advantages for Canadian dairy farmers.
In Goselink's view, one attraction tips the scales heavily in Canada's favour, and makes him happy to be here to stay. "The big thing is the freedom," he says. "You do your work, you take care of your cows and that's it. It's just about farming."
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In many ways, Christiaan Goselink's experience highlights lessons any international farm immigrant could benefit from knowing.
- Think long term. Goselink took five years to get to know Canadian-style dairying and find a farm that suited his own style.
- Accumulate expertise. By working on Canadian farms in three provinces – both as a full-time employee and relief milker – he was able to see the industry from many different perspectives.
- Build an experienced team. No one can do it all on their own. From his RBC Royal Bank account manager to his Canadian realtor, lawyer and Dutch financial advisor, Goselink relied on a team of advisors with the specialized knowledge to help him fulfill his vision.
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Team approach to immigration
As Goselink's five-year odyssey shows, making the move from European to Canadian farming takes time. It also shows the importance of having the right advice available, in both countries.
In Holland, Goselink counted on the dairying advice of his father, Bennie, and the financial advice of the family tax accountant, Peter Coppens. As realtor Jac Theelen put the finishing touches on the Eckville purchase, Dennis Small of RBC Royal Bank hammered out the financing options, working closely with Coppens.
For Small, Christiaan Goselink's story is only the most recent in a long and fruitful association between Royal Bank and Dutch producers heading to Canada.
"We have worked with many Dutch clients over the past 15 years," says Small, Senior Account Manager based in Red Deer. "We have found them to be top production managers, growth-oriented business people and overall great clients to work with."
Higher prices changing the math, but fundamentals apply
Because land costs are so much higher in Holland than here, producers have long been accustomed to buying more in Canada than they farmed back home.
"Often, if they had 60 cows in Holland, they would milk 80 to 100 cows in Canada," says Small. "Now, with the increase in Canadian land and quota prices, a producer who had 60 to 80 cows in Holland might come over and set up with 80 cows here. A stronger Canadian dollar has also had an impact."
Beyond the dollars and cents of land and quota, personal relationships play a key role. Goselink's dairy employers in Ontario and Saskatchewan and his three Alberta employers were all RBC clients who had a great relationship with the bank. These endorsements, along with RBC's track record with Dutch producers and ability to finalize a competitive financing package quickly, earned Goselink's business for RBC.
While cultures and farming techniques vary from country to country, experience shows that successful producers speak the language of good management, and farming talent translates readily.
"In our risk assessment process, personal management skill accounts for about 50 per cent of the score," says Small. "As we've seen so clearly with people from Holland, if someone is a top producer in their own country, there's every reason to believe they'll be a good producer here."
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