After a few years of emigration, he took the same job in the fields: wages attracted workers from abroad.

At first he had a different vision

The salad farm established 9 years ago in Plikiai village in Raseiniai district looked completely different from today. Farm owners say they had a completely different view. The farm currently covers 400 hectares, of which lettuce is grown on about 50 hectares. The rest of the land is cultivated for cereals.

In total, several million euros have been invested here. Investments do not stop during a pandemic, an employee building is currently being installed.

“The farm was not bought for such a farm, we didn’t have such a big vision ourselves. So this, this other building started to sprout. At first we thought of a residential farm, we had a completely different direction, more about tourism, camping. But We have gone in a good direction where everything is known and everything is clear. What we know, we do “, say the spouses.

Known on a salad farm

Vaid and Irma met while emigrating while working on a salad farm in Denmark. The woman left in 1997 as a minor, and a few years later Vaidas found himself there. He estimates that he spent a total of 14 years emigrating while working seasonal jobs.

“I left in 1997, my sister took a summer vacation. At that time, Lithuania was abroad. Wow, as I fell into a wonderland when I arrived in Denmark, although the beginning was difficult and there were tears. But when it’s fun to be here with us now, I would definitely never ride again. It’s fun to travel, see another culture, gain experience, at that time we didn’t have those opportunities.

It all depends on the person himself – whether he hopes to make it to the fake season and come back, whether he looks ahead and how to build for the future. We always think ahead, we don’t look “here and now”. Young people keep coming to win a car and they say that I am practically driving home, but they do not believe that the car needs to be repaired, nor fuel, ”says Irma about emigration.

The spouses say they have always dreamed of returning to Lithuania, so after saving to start a business in 2012, he piled up items and permanently returned to Plikiai village, where Vaidas had grandparents’ land.

“When you leave, you always feel like you want to go back there for a short, temporary time,” says Irma.

“If you leave for half a year, one or two years, I don’t feel the emigration, but if you live permanently … In Western Europe, you look at yourself differently,” adds Vaidas.

Grow 10 types of lettuce

Works on a salad farm – seasonal. Lettuce planting begins around March 20 and ends in mid-September. The first salads are harvested in mid-May and, depending on the type of salad and the weather conditions, the harvest lasts until winter. After a good year, about 2.8 crops are harvested from 50 hectares of land each year. About 10 different varieties of lettuce are grown here: iceberg, Romanian, kale, small spinach, etc.

Lettuce seedlings arrive at the Nagrecki salad farm from Germany. The hosts already have the first seedlings this year, they are waiting for warmer weather and will soon start planting in the fields. This work is done by machines, because manual work is less efficient.

“The first day it would be possible to plant 15 thousand, the second day – 12 thousand, then – 10 thousand. Seedlings. With a car – 100 thousand. You will not plant such quantities with your hands, competition,” says Vaidas.

Due to the pandemic, billing was reduced by approximately 20 percent.

Together with the owner of the Vaida farm, his friend Edgaras Šidiškis, who worked together in Denmark 9 years ago, they started to build the farm. Today, he is the farm’s sales manager. He spoke in more detail about how the farm was affected by the pandemic and what the biggest challenges are for salad growers.

As he points out, the products are sold in large Lithuanian retail chains, such as Iki, Rimi, Lidl, and exported to Latvia, Estonia and, through intermediaries, Belarus and Russia.

An important part of the salad production is sold to bars and restaurants. Therefore, during the pandemic, when they closed, they had to look for sales channels. The interviewee estimates that the pandemic reduced turnover by approximately 20 percent.

“At first there was a lot of fear that the pandemic could not bring seedlings, but there were no major problems.

The pandemic hit sales hard. Bars and restaurants occupy a large part of our production. Since everything had stopped, we felt it strongly. We had to reduce prices to be able to sell more to retail chains and export, ”says E. Šidiškis.

Most losses – For nature

However, nature sometimes brings more difficulties. Frost, hail, drought and forest animals are the main risks on the farm, of which no one in Lithuania insures vegetables.

“Hail causes the most damage, the second most important factor is drought, which can be controlled with irrigation. But if it is very humid, as it was a few years ago, practically the entire field is rotten.
Some years may be better, others – poor, third – not bad. Therefore, we also grow grain – in one year more grain is “transported”, in others – more salad, “says the sales manager.

The situation is saved with the employment receipts.

He assures that there are opportunities for the farm to expand, but the difficulties are due to the lack of labor, so there is very little to expand.

“We have a big problem with the workforce. We attract a significant number of employees from abroad, co-workers, some of whom worked on the same farms in Denmark. Another group of people are locals, some of whom have I’ve been working for years. Others come to work through acquaintances, “he says.

According to him, the salad farm located in the Raseiniai district equals the foreign salary in terms of wages. The average is around 1000 euros: “It is very diverse, you can earn from 800 to 1200 euros, after taxes. Abroad, they can earn a couple hundred more, but if they live away from home, other expenses contribute. “

In summer, up to 50 employees work here, including young people: schoolchildren and students. However, E. Šidiškis admits that sometimes there are problems with the rural population, so the income from employment saves.

“It just came to our attention then. And the villager also likes to raise the cup. When a person works with receipts, he can check it. Employees start working with us according to service receipts, you see which employee wants to work or No. It’s a very good thing, then hiring a contract, “says the sales manager.