Featured Grower - Casey Koomen

Meet Casey Koomen!

Hi, my name is Casey Koomen.  My wife Monique and I have been farming for about 35 years, 22 of those years were as a limited company, Koomen Farms Ltd.
 
What crops do you grow?
We grow sugar beets, dry edible beans (small red and yellow mayacoba), durum wheat and silage corn. We also swap land quite often with our neighbor who grows potatoes on our land.

Why do you grow Sugar Beets?
I can actually see the sugar factory from our house and with the high cost of transporting the beets, I always thought if I can’t make a decent living growing beets, no one can!  I really like growing sugar beets, especially if I end up with a nice stand and you can see them take off and start filling the rows. They also work nicely in my rotation with the other crops.

What do you think is the coolest/most interesting thing about farming?
In a lot of cases (but not always) it rewards you for all the hard work you do.  Most of the time you can notice higher yields and nicer looking crops when you go the extra mile and put extra effort in growing the crop.  I also like to be my own boss and do things the way I like to do them without having to justify why all the time!

How long have you been growing sugar beets?
We have been growing sugar beets for around 35 years.  First, we rented land with quota attached and later when some quota became available to new growers, my wife and I each got twenty acres.  When we formed our limited company, we transferred that quota to it and got a bit of an increase which ended up being enough to fill half a circle (65 acres).  A few years after that we had the opportunity to increase our quota to a full circle (130 acres).

What is your favorite brand of tractor?
I consider myself a “rainbow farmer” meaning I have pretty much all colors of the rainbow in my yard.  I do however prefer John Deere tractors and CIH combines.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Travel!  Whenever I don’t have to take care of things on the farm, we like to take our motorhome and explore.  We also try to fit in overseas and tropical vacations from time to time.