Peter Schelde wants to have a job with versatility, responsibility, and flexibility. This is one of the reasons why he wants to be an independent milk producer.
Peter Schelde wants to be an independent milk producer, but the future is unknown: What awaits Danish agriculture? Fortunately, Peter Schelde is a man with a goal.
“My goal is to become an independent milk producer”, he says, and adds, “I think it is a really interesting job and an exciting workplace to be at”.
“You have to focus on the physiological aspects of the animals and production, on the cultivation of the fields, the employees. It is a crossroads I want to act in. And the plan is clear”, he says.
32-year-old Peter Schelde is the 10th generation at Nørupgaard, not far from Kolding. Having enough flexibility in his work to be able to manage his time is important, emphasizes Schelde, who has two children aged four and six.
“A not insignificant thing about being an independent milk producer is that it harmonizes quite well with family life and my children. There are many tasks that can wait until the children are asleep”, he says.
“Our farm also has more employees than before. This means that we are not so dependent on whether I am on the roster. There are several days where I primarily have to solve ad hoc tasks that I can skip between”, he adds.
Focus on production
One of the things that does not take up an insane amount of space in Peter Schelde's mind is the details of the breeding work. However, there is a close dialogue about the breeding strategy with the advisor.
“We only use bull semen sold through VikingGenetics, and as long as our goals are met in relation to our milk production, I am satisfied. My focus is primarily on production. We have made some decisions to retest selected heifers on an ongoing basis and have been lucky to receive rinsing contracts for some of the best animals”, says the young farmer and states that three heifers will be flushed in the coming months.
“We breed 100% using NTM (Nordic Total Merit) and only on the best cows. The rest are inseminated with beef cattle - primarily Y-Vik Blue Cattle”, he says.
