Why do so many farmers want to participate in the “Farmer Seeks Women” campaign? Because they don’t have time to look for someone to love

The last season of Boer zkt Vrouw on VTM has ended. It was fun to look into the living room and other people’s lives. A guilty pleasure par excellence.

VTM also makes an effort to paint a picture of farm life. As much of the filming as possible is done on the farm itself. You also see how young farmers experience tension between agricultural work and their private lives. Thanks to the empathetic skills of presenter Dina Trsjo, this was handled well. To her credit, the sometimes clumsy farmers and farmers’ wives vented their hearts at the sight of Flanders, and no one was ridiculed.

However, this time too, Boyer’s wife left a bitter aftertaste. After several seasons of this popular reality show, VTM has yet to comprehensively analyze agriculture. It seems that the channel does not think about why there are so many candidates to participate in the program every year. Why do so many young farmers continue to put their last hope of finding love on a commercial TV show?

Anyone familiar with agriculture certainly knows this. Because life on the farm is something special. Absorbs you completely. Anyone who dares to become a farmer’s partner is quickly drawn to agricultural life. It’s a bit like a roller coaster at an amusement park. You go in without really knowing what to expect, but going all the way out isn’t an option.

I’m lucky to have been married for thirty years. Even though my wife doesn’t work on the farm, she is on that roller coaster. It’s a fun adventure, but sometimes the roller coaster makes weird twists. Then you have to prepare, which is not always easy. Because we don’t live on the farm, I’m constantly asked when we plan to move to the farm. I have to explain over and over again that I married my wife, not my cow.

One farm, one house

People still assume that a farmer is a farmer day and night. And this private life must adapt. Of course, this is not the fault of politics alone. It is not the government’s job to find a girlfriend for every young farmer. But some problems can be solved by implementing a different policy. The government has a great responsibility in this regard.