De Groene Weg started setting up a chain for organic beef from the Netherlands in 2022. Now two years later the time has come: the butchers of De Groene Weg start selling organic beef from their own region.
De Groene Weg already had a closed chain with Dutch livestock farmers for pork and lamb, but not yet for beef. That is why the organic meat supplier started setting up such a chain two years ago. This started with research into the possibility of raising organic calves in our own country; a clear need among Dutch organic dairy farmers.
More knowledge
In the Netherlands, the focus is on dairy farming and not on keeping beef cattle. As a result, knowledge about keeping beef cattle was limited, reports De Groene Weg. The company has invested in increasing this knowledge in recent years. The company involved experts at home and abroad in the research. This showed that it is a financial challenge to keep calves ready for slaughter due to the mandatory grazing in combination with the high land prices. But the financial feasibility is increased if the animals are grazed on natural grounds. These lands often have a considerably lower price. On the other hand, these soils often have a significantly lower feed yield with lower nutritional values. The genetics of the animal plays an important role in order to supply sufficient meat of the right quality at an acceptable price level. Not every breed is suitable for supplying quality meat on natural grounds.
Closed chain for beef
Despite these challenges, the project was a success. The first organic beef from the Netherlands is now on the counter of De Groene Weg butchers. This means that this De Groene Weg chain is officially complete and it also offers all links, just like the other chains of the meat supplier, a fair price and long-term perspective. In this way, De Groene Weg responds to the growing need for organic beef of Dutch origin and the need among organic dairy farmers to have their calves grow up organically and gain value.
First meat
The first meat from the chain comes from Albert Hassink from Veessen in Gelderland and is sold in the butchers of De Groene Weg in Apeldoorn, Arnhem and Nijmegen. Bas Derksen (De Groene Weg Nijmegen): “We are very happy with the steps that De Groene Weg has made. The Dutch origin of our organic meat is becoming increasingly important to our customers and it was a shame that we could not yet offer this. Now we not only offer top quality beef, but we can also link the wonderful story of beef farmer Hassink to this product.”
Scaling up chain
De Groene Weg wants to further scale up the chain for organic beef in the coming period. “We have now found a number of organic cattle farmers with whom we are entering into a partnership,” says Daan Tomesen (chain manager De Groene Weg). “We are now investigating the possibility of bundling and further expanding our collective knowledge of organic cattle together with the affiliated cattle farmers, our own field service and cattle traders. We are proud that we can now offer the farmers we will be working with a long-term perspective for their organic cattle.”
The Green Way
De Groene Weg specializes in the production of organic pork, beef and lamb in a closed chain. The company has butchers in the Netherlands, its own webshop and sales to various large retail chains in Europe.
