„Agropuzzle” meeting in Poland March 2012 Presentation

Directions for creating of multimedia presentation By participants of Polish mobility within Leonardo da Vinci „Agropuzzle” project

The aim of presentation: To show characteristic features of running a farm and agribusiness enterprises in Poland on the basis of: 1)a farm specialized in porkers run by Teresa and Rajmund Bulik 2) a farm and fish breeding pond and agribusiness activity and gastronomy by Grazyna and Leszek Krzywniak 3) factory of soil for champignons cultivation by Karol Kania and sons To show similarities and differences between running a farm and agribusiness enterprise in Poland and other European countries viewed through observations during previous mobilities Each group (country) prepare its presentation in their mother tongue as well as in English for every visited place taking into account:  Characteristic features listed above  Personal remarks and feelings not included in the chart  Photos taken on the spot

1. Vast area farms; so-called individual farms and specialization in terms of plants and animal production Bulik – Mr.Bulik’s farm covers area of 260ha divided into family members, into two locations.They deal with crop production as well as they have cattle, around 2500pigs.Annualy they sell 8000 adult pigs to be slaughtered. Krzywniak- The plaugh area of the farm is 350 ha, the annual production of cattle is 2000 pieces of pigs. Annual turnover of crops is 1000tonnes, some part is used for food for pigs and the other part is sold. He also owns some fish ponds which are used for fishing and he also offers a restaurant services as well as accommodation.

2. Family oriented business activity Bulik – The characteristic feature is that this company is run only by family members who are two sons and owner’s brother. The owner deals with paperwork and documents and his son work on this farm. They also have to hire up to 6 seasonal workers. Krzywniak – The owner runs this business with his wife and his son, he also hires two workers here.

3. Vocational education of company owners and their children connected to Komorno Secondary Agricultural School Bulik – Mr. Rajmund Bulik, the owner, is a graduate of Komorno Agricultural School where they received technical education, his two sons also received technical vocational education in Komorno. Thanks to it thay can run a farming business as well as they entitled to aplying for European Union grants and funds for modernizing and improvement of the farm. Krzywniak – He is focused on agribusiness activity, all of them received technical education in the Agricultural School in Komorno. Jacek Krzywniak, the owner’s son is about to get MA in Agronomy in Wroclaw University. Thanks to this fact the son can take over the business because without this qualifications having and running a farming business is impossible in Poland.

4. Acquiring of funds from European projects aimed at development and modernization of farms and enterprises (in close relation to agricultural education) Bulik – He got European Union funds for improving the pavement in his premises, he purchased some machines and tools and finally he acquired some arable land thanks to this subsidy. Additionaly, a farmer who own agrable land gets a susbsidy worth of approximately 200euros a year for a hactare. Krzywniak –the restaurant which is going to be opened in May was built with 49percent support of funds coming from EU.He also gets a susbidy to his agrable land. He was not entitled to any support nor subsidy due to the fact of running a farming business. Kania and sons-They company was given a financial support for creation of pellet factory made from ripe straw. They started production on November 2011.

5. Cooperation with raw materials’ suppliers and recipients of farm goods, both animal and vegetable Bulik – Piglets are taken from Danemark, the crops are sold and money is used for buying food for piglets, or he tries exchange goods ( crops for pigllets’ food). The mature pigs are sold indirectly to many countries such as Ukraine and Russia and even Japan Krzywniak – He has a signed contract with one recipient for his pigs and in farming activity he searches for the best possible recipients

6. Any marketing activities aiming at acquiring raw material (straw) and cooperation with recipients of final product (soil for champignons and pellets) Kania and sons –Mr. Kania buys raw material such as white straw from farmers who live in radius of 120km both in Poland as well as in the Czech Republic. He also selects his customers, he preferes long-standing cooperation, watches closely new clients in order not to spoil his reputation. He also takes the mushroom seeds (mycelium)from Polish and French partners. He distributes the soil for champignons production to Polish partners because the transportation cannot take more than 12 hrs. Additionally, he opened a new factory aiming at productioin of pelllets which are ecological means of heating made of straw. He does not have to make big commercials because he is well-known among champignons producers.he has his own fleet of cars, trucks and other farming vehicles signed with his logo.

7. Showing significant production connections with foreign markets Bulik – He prefers foreign markets, especially Danish one because they can provide him with numerous piglets at once (around thousand). As for selling adult pigs, they search for non-European markets as they offer the highest price. Kania and sons - He imports some material from France, he buys straw from farmers which have fields close to his company. Majority of his products are shipped to Poland but some products are sold to foreign markets (he is to start selling products to Ukraine)

8. Development of side activities such as fish breeding ponds, agritourism and restaurants Krzywniak – He has breeding ponds for fish, he also built huts for anglers who are willing to spend a night at a lake. There is also a newly built restaurant that can provide food for as much as 200 customers. He aims at organising wedding ceremonies, birthdays and anniversaries and other meetings.

9. The use of natural climatic and soil qualities in running a farming company within given area Bulik –the soil is very low quality, hard to plaugh so he must focus on specific plants. Thanks to fertilizing the soil he can plant barley, wheat and ripe, corn and beetroot. The problem for the company is that it is located on an area that is frequently flooded by river. Krzywniak – He also has poor quality soil so he must devote more money to crops production, fertlizing, and he also deals with often floods there. Kania and sons – He decided to built this factory in this location due to the fact of having high quality straw that can be gathered there. In my country -

10. The use of landscape qualities in running a farm and agricultural company Krzywniak – The rural location enabled setting of a company there are small ponds and lakes encircled by small heights and woods. This is located far away from any cities and is not polluted with fumes from factories.

11. The use of high quality straw as a side product of crop production Kania and sons- Opolskie region is known for crops production where the side product is straw which was not used in large quantities in farming, the company decided to start soil for champingnions production as well as pellets production which are used as biofuels for electric plants. The straw must have proper humididty and is made from wheat and rye and its mixture. In my country -

12. Reduction of unemployment in the local area due to creation of new workplaces (recently) Kania and sons – The company employs 230 workers and in summertime he also hires around additional staff. They work 24-hours a day, such a big number of employees reduces the number of unemployment rate in this area.

13. The use of the abundance of straw to biofuels’ production Kania and sons - The production of pellets as a biofuels was commenced in November 2011 and its target is the Czech Republic and Polish power plants

14. Proecological meaning of pellets production Kania and sons - Burning of pellets produces far less smoke and fumes than non-ecological burning of coal or oil. There is no difference in the price of pellets and oil as far as energetic value of those fuels is concerned.

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