Sustainability

Organic

The goats on our farm are raised entirely organically. This means that we must follow the guidelines set up by Skal for this purpose. Regulations for organic products consist of European laws, Dutch legal texts and Skal regulations. These can be found through the website of Skal . Some examples of rules we must follow:

• A maximum of 40% of the ration may consist of concentrates
• The goats must have at least 1.50 m² of pen space per animal (ours is even 2 m²)
• At least 60% of the feed must come from own farm or region

Every year Skal comes to check that we are complying with the rules in the right way.

Feed extraction

Because we are an organic farm, there are additional rules involved in handling our land and growing the grass. For example, we are not allowed to use pesticides and fertilizers. To ensure that the grass gets enough nitrogen to grow, we grow a mixture of grass and clover on the land. Clover ensures that the grass gets enough nitrogen. The grass clover is cut 5 to 6 times a year. After each cutting, it is pressed into wrapping film bales. If these bales have stood for at least 6 weeks, it is excellent feed for goats. In addition to this silage, goats can also eat fresh grass in the pasture during the summer. Our grassland is divided into several plots. The plots are surrounded by wooded banks and forest. This is very scenic, but the shade caused by the trees means that less grass grows here and the land does not dry up as quickly.

Solar Panels

In 2013, 180 solar panels were installed on the roof of the goat barn. Per year, these solar panels generate about 40,000 kWh of energy. Because you use a lot of electricity as a dairy producer, we wanted to have solar panels installed from the beginning.