Organic beef from the Netherlands is now also available at three De Groene Weg butcher shops. The chain must offer all links a fair price and long-term perspective.
Two years ago, De Groene Weg started a chain for meat from calves from organic dairy farmers. With its focus on calves from its own country, the company responds to the growing need for organic beef of Dutch origin. Just like the need of organic dairy farmers to have their calves grow up organically and gain value.
De Groene Weg works for pork and lamb in a closed chain with Dutch livestock farmers. Over the past two years, the company has been investigating the possibility of raising organic calves in their own country, which is a clear need among Dutch dairy farmers.
Expand knowledge
Because the focus in the Netherlands is on dairy farming and not on beef cattle, knowledge about keeping beef cattle is limited. De Groene Weg has invested heavily in increasing this knowledge in recent years. The company consulted experts at home and abroad for this purpose.
Mandatory grazing in combination with high land prices makes it a financial challenge to keep calves ready for slaughter. Financial feasibility is increased when the animals are grazed on natural grounds. These soils often have a significantly lower price, but on the other hand they often have a significantly lower feed yield with lower nutritional values.
Genetics matter
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.
The first meat from this chain comes from cattle farmer Albert Hassink in Veessen, Gelderland. It is sold in the butchers of De Groene Weg in Apeldoorn, Arnhem and Nijmegen. “We are very happy with the steps that De Groene Weg has made,” says butcher Bas Derksen of De Groene Weg in Nijmegen.
‘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 have top-quality beef, but we can also link the wonderful story of beef farmer Hassink to this product,” Derksen explains.
Scaling up organic beef chain
De Groene Weg has now found several organic cattle farmers with whom they are entering into collaboration. “We are now investigating the possibility of bundling and further expanding our joint knowledge of organic cattle with the affiliated cattle farmers, our own field service and cattle traders,” says chain manager Daan Tomesen of De Groene Weg.
“We are proud that we can now offer the farmers we will be working with a long-term perspective for their organic cattle,” Tomesen concludes.
