Establishment of ZPC
To tell the story of the establishment of ZPC, we need to go back to 1903 when the first seed of ZPC was planted by founder Jakob Wiersma.
1903
As a board member of the Friesche Maatschappij voor Landbouw (Friesche Mij.), Jakob Wiersma is an attentive observer during the seedling exhibition at the Amicitia Hotel in Leeuwarden. But now he cannot stand it any longer. He stands up and says that the assessment is not up to scratch, because it does not include how the crops looked in summer. He calls for an organisation to assess the fields in summer. And he insists that the farmer whose crops are assessed should be given the right to exhibit the seedlings. And because the Friesche Mij. leans on Jakob's expertise, a Field Inspection Service of the Friesche Mij. is set up.
1908
Sometime later, the Friesche Mij. receives complaints from buyers from Zuid-Holland and Zeeland who have received lower quality seed potatoes than expected. Therefore, from 1908 onwards, the Field Inspection Service also inspects potato plots.
1913
Despite the work of the Field Inspection Department, buyers of seed potatoes are still being scammed. The Friesche Mij. therefore receives a request for sales and transportation to be carried out directly by the Friesche Mij. In 1913 the board of the Friesche Mij. establishes the Bureau for the Sale of Seed Potatoes. Jakob Wiersma becomes director.
1919
The Bureau for the Sale of Seed Potatoes has now been handling the sale and transportation of seed potatoes for six years. But a major decision is imminent. Director Jakob Wiersma thinks growers are operating too independently, which is not in the common interest. He proposes converting the agency into an association with members. The statutes of the new association will include the main condition: The new association, Seed and Seed Potatoes Cooperative, shall trade only seed and seed potatoes approved by the Field Inspection Service of the Friesche Maatschappij van Landbouw.
The establishment of ZPC is a fact.