2023-07-07 10:15:00
In 2030, there must be a Herenboerderij every 20 kilometers in the Netherlands, where citizens have control over their own food. The concept is catching on in Leimuiden. “Getting sushi, we don’t do that anymore.”
Tom van Hulsen7 July 2023, 12:15
There are three pigs sunbathing in a mud puddle. Eyes half closed, muzzle just above the water. It is therefore quite warm this Saturday. Cauliflowers have just been harvested a little further on. Four runner ducks waddle past, quacking along the path along the mud pit. “Great, isn’t it?” says Jürgen van der Zwaard. “I can enjoy that.”
Together with his wife Marga, he is one of the 240 certificate holders of Herenboerderij aan den Drecht in Leimuiden. Together – and under the leadership of a farmer – the group runs a mixed farm on a gigantic plot: 23 hectares, regarding the size of 32 football fields. “I learn something here every day,” says Van der Zwaard. “About those ducks, for example. These animals are important to protect vegetable cultivation, because they eat snails. Otherwise, those snails will eat the vegetables.”
Van der Zwaard is 67 years old. He recently retired as an account manager at a multinational and found the Herenboerderij a useful and pleasant pastime. “Instead of working, I now spend regarding three to four days a week on the farm. I help on the land, but I am also part of a working group with handymen. We recently put together three cold stores. And soon solar panels will have to be installed for the power supply.”
2000 euros for a certificate
The grounds of the Herenboerderij are located between the river Drecht and the Westeinder Plassen, right on the border of North and South Holland. It is a piece of land belonging to a former cattle farmer. “We were very lucky in that respect,” says Van der Zwaard. “It is sandy soil here, extremely suitable for the cultivation of fruit and vegetables.”
The location in Leimuiden is one of the eighteen Herenboerderijen in the Netherlands. The certificate holders are often couples or families. They all invested 2000 euros in 2021 to realize the farm – single people paid 1000 euros. The idea is to have control over the production of your own food. Fruit and vegetables are grown without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers, and the animals have a ‘deserving’ existence. “We think that’s important,” says Van der Zwaard.
The barn of the Herenboerderij on the Drecht where members can pick up their weekly fruit and vegetables. Image Otto Snoek
“I also find it very special that you grow your own food. Yes, sometimes there is some mud between the vegetables. I know that in the beginning a number of people dropped out for that reason. They were used to the vegetables from the supermarket… There was some leniency then; they were still allowed to dispose of their certificate. Normally you can only resell a certificate following three years. It is therefore an investment that you can always recoup, but that is not what we do it for.”
Vegetarian packages and packages with meat
On this Saturday, a second tunnel greenhouse will be assembled on land. Volunteers pick fruit on another piece. In the distance, behind the countless planted fruit trees, ten cows graze. “We also have twelve pigs and 149 chickens here,” says Van der Zwaard.
“Those chickens are primarily there for the eggs. Only when a chicken no longer lays eggs is it slaughtered. You can find that pathetic, just like with the pigs and cows that go to slaughter following a year, but they do have a good life here.” He points to one of the pigs, who has stepped out of the mud puddle and comes to light up the visitors at the fence. “As good as here, most pigs don’t usually have it elsewhere, you know.”
Pigs can take a mud bath at the Herenboerderij in Leimuiden. Image Otto Snoek
All certificate holders of the Herenboerderij can pick up a package with home-grown food every week on Saturday, at the so-called issue. They pay extra for that every month: a vegetarian package costs 46 euros per month, a package with meat 64 euros. “Of course, there isn’t meat every week, we don’t have enough animals for that,” says Van der Zwaard.
“And in the winter there is only one issue every two weeks. The food that comes from the country is really good. Sometimes crops fail, but not often. And those food packages are more than sufficient; we really have to try our best to finish it in a week. We used to get sushi on a weekday evening, but that is no longer available…”
Joep van der Geest (59) will also be there this Saturday to pick up his food packages. He still works as a gardener and can therefore not help nearly as much on the farm as Van der Zwaard. “But my girlfriend and I immediately got into it in 2021, because we see the whole idea behind these farms,” says Van der Geest.
“My girlfriend has Parkinson’s disease. It is becoming increasingly clear that there is a link between this disease and the use of pesticides, or at least that there is an increased risk. We therefore find unsprayed vegetables very important – and the sense of community also appeals to us. Activities are organized almost monthly. For example, on Saturdays there is always a hobby cook from whom you can get recipes. A kitchen is now even being fitted out, where workshops will be given.”
New tractor
Working on the farm is done on a voluntary basis. One hoes away weeds, another harvests vegetables, a third collects eggs and yet another is in a group that installs the solar panels. Yet it is not always possible to get enough people on their feet, notes Hans van Os, treasurer of the Herenboerderij in Leimuiden. “It’s no different,” he says. “Then we hire a contractor who is paid from the exploitation, there is a budget available for that.”
Jürgen van der Zwaard: ‘Fetching sushi, we don’t do that anymore’.Image Otto Snoek
The same applies to specialist work that needs to be done. “We can all do a lot together, but you also need an expert to install solar panels. Even if new machines are needed, or a new tractor, this is paid for from the exploitation. And we have a total of 1.4 FTE of permanent employees. That is one farmer, and someone who helps him part-time.”
Ledjaar van Houten is that farmer. He is very pleased with the enthusiasm of the certificate holders. “At least half help regularly,” he says. “They are indeed generally people who are not used to working on a farm, but I teach them how it all works by doing. They pick that up very quickly. The only time I give a really thorough explanation is when we draw up the annual cultivation plan. Then I really stand in front of the group with large sheets of paper.”
Van Houten fully supports the idea of circular and organic agriculture. “I think that’s normal, every farm should want that. No, we don’t have an organic label, but that’s because we don’t need it. It is only mandatory if you also sell food, with us it is all for your own use. Moreover, such a quality mark is quite difficult. But there are voices to request one anyway, because that way you declare your solidarity with other organic farmers. We will talk regarding that.”
Farmers in the area were initially a bit sceptical
“It is actually farming here as it was customary forty or fifty years ago,” says Lieneke Koenes, board member of the Stichting Herenboeren Groene Hart, who will also be in Leimuiden this Saturday. “The farmers in the area were initially a bit skeptical regarding the plans of the Herenboerderij. I can imagine that too. If your intention as a farmer is to generate a decent income in a short period of time, then you should not do this. But that’s not what we want. Herenboeren Nederland was founded to show that agriculture can also be done in a different way, more focused on sustainability. That immediately appealed to me. The ambition is to have a Herenboerderij every twenty kilometers in the Netherlands by 2030.”
Jürgen van der Zwaard has to help install new LED lighting this followingnoon. “I met a lot of new people here,” he says. “Because a nice side effect of the farm is that it is also a social event. It’s weird to say, but I just feel restless if I haven’t been for once…”
Circular business operations
The Stichting Herenboeren Nederland is a citizens’ movement that aims to take control of its own food production. In 2016, the first Herenboerderij was created in Boxtel and there are now eighteen across the country. Before 2025, that number will probably reach thirty; there are at least ten in formation. Each farm has room for 250 certificate holders and wants to produce food for 500 ‘mouths’. There is still room for a number of certificate holders at Herenboerderij aan den Drecht in Leimuiden, following which a waiting list will be created. A Herenboerderij strives for circular business operations and is always a mixed farm with a minimum of 20 hectares of leased land that supplies vegetables, fruit, eggs and meat.
Barefoot Path
Bernard and Mieke Bult from Leimuiden have been given the opportunity by the managers of the Herenboerderij to build a barefoot path just behind the entrance. They are busy with the construction. “We often visit nature campsites in Germany and barefoot paths are very popular there. They are often sponsored by natural medicine companies, such as Kneip and Vogel. In the Netherlands they don’t want that; we have to find all the stuff ourselves. Fortunately, we are offered a lot: stuff from an artificial grass dealer, shells, flagstones. We create special paths with daisies and running chamomile. It is very healthy to walk barefoot, it stimulates the blood circulation.” The path should be officially opened in September.
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