Advisory Service: Rules for a Long and Happy Life from Agriculture

It has been a long time since a colleague from another magazine, after reading my story about how much money and for what is needed to open a family farm, persuaded me to start a business together. But even then, I realized that it is not easy, even though we would have the support of the Advisory Service within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management, and she even considered leaving journalism to embark on that adventure. However, she remained loyal to journalism, and I was reminded of this story by a journalistic assignment to go out into the field and write a report on what the Advisory Service does.

I found myself in unpicked grapes, but fortunately, the Ministry reacted very quickly, connecting me with Anđelka Pejaković, the kind and accommodating head of the Advisory Service of Zagreb County, so my colleague, photographer Boris Ščitar, and I set off one morning to her office in Velika Gorica, where we were welcomed by her colleague Dalibor Zima. The four of us, along with others, would enjoy each other’s company that day, and while we prepared a work plan, our hostess, originally from Sinj, told us that she started working as a professional advisor in the Advisory Service as a young agronomist (livestock direction). That was in 1999. Zima also graduated in livestock, and besides them, various agronomists work in the Advisory Service. One of them will join us during our travels through Zagreb County.

Internet View into the Pigsty

We are driving towards Mičevac, a Turopolje village near Zagreb Airport, while civil planes fly overhead (fortunately, still only them). After about 15 minutes of driving through this picturesque area, we arrive at a pig farm owned by Tomislav Haluga, where we are greeted by his father Ivica, a cheerful and friendly gentleman who shows us around the farm. They have 100 hectares of land for producing animal feed, and as much as he can, he shows us the latest technology (the farm is closed to visitors) and says that such a farm with a capacity of 120 sows and 2500 to 3000 fatteners per year (currently at 80 percent) can be monitored by one person.

– Through the internet, we see how much food the animals eat per day. In such weather conditions, when it is humid, the cooling system is especially important. Fatteners live at room temperature, for sows, the ideal is between 16 and 20 degrees. There are also farrowing pens, so for piglets, the temperature must be 33 degrees, especially in the first days of life – explains Ivica.

We do not dare to touch anything, so we return, and considering that it is the end of August, but still humid (even though it is morning), we stay in the cooled building to chat. He tells how he transferred the family farm to his son Tomislav when he finished high school, and as a young farmer, he received a 70 percent refund from the Rural Development Fund (RR) for an investment of two million euros.

The farm opened last June, and Pejaković, who has been following the development of this project from the beginning along with Zima, says she admires Ivica’s patience, as she would have given up long ago. Almost ten years passed from the idea to realization, and the most problems were caused by administrative barriers.

– And for beginners, the problem is how to get money. Banks will not support them, and they cannot apply for measures because they do not have production, land registries are disorganized… – adds Zima.

What if the Soybean Doesn’t Germinate

Ivica developed the concept of the farm by visiting about 30 farms in Germany and Austria. By the way, this cheerful man speaks in a typical Turopolje ‘language,’ whose words we newcomers find difficult to transcribe on paper (despite initial efforts, we gave up), so we will stick to the Croatian standard language. Throughout the time, the organizers of our trip, Pejaković and Zima, joke with him, and it is clear that they have known each other for a long time and work well together. We provoke Ivica with the question of whether he benefits from the Advisory Service, but he does not get confused and promptly replies that he does. Moreover, it encouraged him to start this project. Recently, the advice has been more focused on avoiding mistakes, such as missing deadlines, for example, by when he must mow. Or, they sowed soybeans that did not germinate, and they reported it for subsidies to the Payment Agency.

– The deadline to report changes, or withdrawals, is until October 1. Tomislav cannot request a new measure, but he can change crops or in this case withdraw, so it does not appear as if he wanted to deceive the system – explains Zima as we slowly step out into the sun.

Assistance with Funds

He adds that people approach them with an idea and ask where to start. Pejaković adds that those who traditionally engage in this are more successful because they have generational support, knowledge, and skills. And those who start from scratch can only succeed if they listen to the profession. Just over a year ago, the Advisory Service organized a presentation of new techniques and technologies for farmers on that farm. Namely, it is also part of the Advisory Service’s job to organize educational workshops and lectures that farmers must attend as a condition for subsidies.

– We advise until a disease starts, meaning regarding feeding, breeding, and keeping methods. We have only a few veterinarians in the service. From the beginning, agronomy has been mainly represented, although perhaps there should be more veterinarians, especially among those who process products. These are all veterinary jobs that we agronomists are forced to interpret. But I have learned to cope with that – notes Pejaković.

She says they have also participated in many projects funded by the RR Fund (for rural development), although they are not obliged to do so. She often prepared projects, especially with small family farms because they are easier, while with large ones, the application process is more complicated… Does this mean that the Advisory Service practically has a consulting role, we ask.

– It is almost like that, but it is not our primary job, so only part of us did that. At the farm we are now going to, I helped prepare all projects that are co-financed from EU funds – emphasizes Pejaković.

Encouragement for the Tasting Room

We warmly say goodbye to the host, with whom we talked much more than can fit into the framework of this story, and we drive towards Dugo Selo. We arrive in Kusanovec, in the municipality of Brckovljani, 30 kilometers from Zagreb. The rural idyll is somewhat disrupted by some abandoned houses. There used to be about 250 inhabitants, now there are perhaps 50, nostalgically says Željko Zadravec, who welcomed us at the family farm whose holder is his wife Romina. Two families work on that estate; along with the two of them, there are their sons David and Marko, and Romina’s sister Melita Jadanec-Čutura with her husband Pavle and older son Domagoj and daughter-in-law Petra. Domagoj also has his family farm, which he opened in 2016 after finishing school, where he grows various types of lettuce, potatoes, pumpkins, beans, and strawberries.

– I sell the products at the market in Dubrava. Mostly, my mom is there, and when the season is stronger, like with strawberries, then I sell too – emphasizes Domagoj.

The Zadravacs have a cow farm (26 heads), from whose milk they make cheese (15 products). They process about 75 thousand liters of milk per year and cultivate 37 hectares of land.

– At Anđelka’s ‘encouragement,’ in 2021, we built a cheese tasting room. We received 50 thousand euros for the construction of the facility from the RR Fund, and for equipping the facility, a county subsidy – emphasizes Romina.

While we sit in the tasting room, which quickly grew into a picnic area called Ivekov kutićek, laughter, joking, and recounting anecdotes of old acquaintances can be heard.

– In the tasting room, there is only a selection of drinks and cold cuts, while in the picnic area, there are drinks and hot food – explains Pejaković.

In the spacious room, we refreshed ourselves, escaping from the humidity, and we ask how Pejaković ‘encouraged’ them to open the tasting room. Željko says that many groups visited them – most often from schools, and since it is a large family, they did not have space for gatherings, which also pushed the idea. The Advisory Service also brought representatives of the EU Parliament, farmers…

– We were often contacted by the Ministry of Agriculture about where we would take them that is close to Zagreb, so we suggested them. Then we concluded that guests had nowhere to sit, so we proposed the tasting room – recalls Pejaković.

After the Field – Apartments and Padel

Later, guests asked for accommodation, says Željko as he shows us two recently completed apartments that are soon to be registered, and they passed the Ministry of Tourism’s competition with a project for building a padel court. They received 20 thousand euros, and the entire project is worth about 40 thousand euros. Across the street is a small cheese factory, which we peek into from the door. Family members add ingredients for cheese production, but we cannot enter due to hygiene reasons. However, it was precisely the desire to open a cheese factory that started their cooperation in 2008 when Romina contacted the Advisory Service. The rest is history. They produce 15 tons of products annually, which they sell to picnic areas, hotels, at the market in Dubrava, and on Saturdays at the Garden Mall shopping center. Zvonimir Vukov, a plant protection expert, joins us. He has been working in the Advisory Service for over 20 years and has long been following the development of the Zadravec family farm.

– I enjoy working with them, as well as with other farmers. They follow my advice, ask me what and when to spray, although in recent years they have increasingly asked me to help with paperwork for subsidies – notes Vukov.

Competitive Joking and the All-Knowing Team

Romina and Željko, as well as her nephew Domagoj, say they receive a lot from the Advisory Service. The lectures where they hear the experiences of others mean a lot, even they become hosts. But, jokingly, Željko reveals to us that there is also competition among the advisors.

– Once Zvonko called me. He says that a competition for a measure is open, and I reply that I know, Anđelka informed me. ‘When before?!’, he will say disappointedly (laughter from others, ed.). Otherwise, I communicate with Zvonko every day – emphasizes Željko.

He adds that it is not easy for advisors because there are farmers who are closed off. Pejaković confirms this, some people change their minds slowly or have too high expectations.

– We cannot change agricultural policy. There are also cases when they say ‘what will you tell me, I have been in agriculture for 50 years.’ But we deal a lot with regulations in areas where we are not experts because farmers expect that from us. Romina recently told me that she found out about a competition for the purchase of electric vehicles from the Environmental Protection Fund. However, I am an agronomist, I have nothing to do with that. I had to study that competition to give her answers – explains Pejaković.

Who Bends Whom

Our hosts say that it is easier for the Advisory Service to obtain information because, as Haluga said, ‘no one bends them,’ and that is why they turn to them.

We start the car and the air conditioning. We concluded while returning to Zagreb that we witnessed a good collaboration between the private sector and the state that day. People often speak without any argument about the laziness of civil servants and officials, but the organizers of our trip convinced us that it is not quite so.