Customer

Breaking stereotypes

The Vešnik family farm is located near Slovenska Bistrica, in the village of Vinarje. All members of the family take an active part in the work of the specialised cattle fattening farm, but it is the young future owner, Tina Vešnik, who stands out, ready to continue the family tradition.

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“Megafex makes everything quicker, easier and more efficient!”

Tina Vešnik

All for export

Jože Vešnik and his wife Ana started farming in Vinarje in the 1990s, but later decided to expand their business and focus on cattle fattening. Today, the specialised farm has 200 heads of fattening cattle in its stables, most of which are exported, for example to Italy and Kosovo, where they fetch higher prices than on the domestic market. As Ana Vešnik explains: “We hardly sell anything in Slovenia because the prices are not competitive and it just doesn’t pay off.” As a result, they are not considering a different sales concept in the future, unless there is a radical change in the market.

Family ties

The family farm is characterised by the active involvement of all its members, which is a key factor in its success. On 45 hectares of fields and meadows, they grow cereals such as barley, maize and rye, which are then used as silage for home-made roughage for livestock. When there is a shortage, grain is mostly bought from the related Klemenčič farm, where one of the daughters, Karina, has moved. This ensures quality and proven feed for their animals. They work very well with the Klemenčič family and lend each other machinery when needed, especially during seasonal peaks. In addition to farming, they also own 60 hectares of forest. Although they are not currently involved in forestry, they have not ruled out the possibility of returning to it in the future. Tina, the future young owner, who is ready to take the reins and continue the family tradition, says that due to lack of time, they focus exclusively on farming and fattening cattle. Other agricultural services are not offered for the same reason.

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Essential investments

Good machinery is crucial to the success of the Vešnik family’s farming and arable business, so they have invested in new equipment over the past few years. The first purchase was a new tractor, followed by a loader last year and a spreader this year. “Investing in new machinery was essential to improve productivity, especially for the machines we use the most and to make our daily work easier,” says farm manager Jože, who is unhappy with the high prices of the machinery. “Modern machinery is simply too expensive compared to agricultural incomes, so without subsidies it would be difficult to finance new machinery,” he adds. The Vešnik family is also planning to invest in their own power plant, which would be built on top of a silo, thus killing two birds with one stone – self-sufficiency in electricity and cover for rain or water in manure problems.

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A simple but difficult decision

As with any major decision or investment, the family makes choices and compromises together. This year’s investment focused on the purchase of a new organic manure spreader, and the choice of brand was easier than the choice of model. “The previous spreader from a competitor was too small and too weak for our needs. We simply outgrew it, so we were looking for a professional machine,” explains Jože, who is no stranger to Farmtech machines. “We know Farmtech machines. We had been considering the Megafex for a long time, but we couldn’t decide between the 18-tonne and the 22-tonne versions,” explains Jože, adding that they finally opted for the smaller 18-tonne model, which better matched the tractor’s available pulling power. And they don’t regret their decision to buy a new Megafex 1800 spreader from Farmtech dealer Mehanizacija Miler.

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Importance of organic manure

Without farming and the smell of home-made manure, there would be no produce, no real taste and growth. The Vešnik family fertilise their land three times a year with home-made organic manure, of which they produce up to 800 cubic metres a year. “Organic manure is the basis for fertilisation and economical production without polluting the environment – especially in our area where we are limited by the amount of land we can cultivate,” says the young farmer-to-be. “We are also less affected by the price of artificial manure, because we have our own home-made organic manure,” adds Tina. Like most farms in the area, the Vešniks face the problem of a lack of arable land for intensive farming. They would like to invest in additional hectares, but there is no land available in this area because, according to the farm manager Jože, nowadays it is those who do not cultivate the land who invest in it.

Quicker, easier and more efficient

Tina’s passion for farming has been with her since childhood. She is very familiar with farm work, especially machinery operation, and breaks the stereotype that women should not drive farm machinery. That’s why Tina was the right person to give a brief summary of the user experience with the new spreader. “After the first fifteen runs, it feels great and incomparable to the one we had before. Everything is quicker, easier and more efficient,” says Tina enthusiastically. “Despite the higher speeds of up to 40 km/h and the huge composition, I feel safe on the road. The spreader is manoeuvrable and stable, and it’s so eye-catching that you can’t miss it on the road. The wheels are as wide as possible, which reduces soil compaction in the field, and the wheel profile is ideal for our needs as it has excellent self-cleaning properties. All the main functions are easy to operate from the tractor cab. The spreader is reliable and the spreading pattern is even, precise, and can be adjusted as required – so far the spreader has worked smoothly and very efficiently.” Jože is reassured that his daughter, who is breaking stereotypes and making the most of the machines, is happy with the new investment. He insists that their aim – to make work easier and more productive – has been achieved.

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