The Field Guideby Moss & MarrowDe Bonte Parels
- No synthetic pesticides or fertiliser (certified)
De Bonte Parels is an organic dairy farm in Westbroek with about 100 cattle, 55 of them milking cows, where the farming family sells raw milk from a milk tap and beef, yoghurt and cheese from their own herd in a farm shop.
The farm has been organic since 1 April 2018 and is certified (SKAL); we found it in the register under the partnership name at this address. No synthetic fertiliser is used, weeds are pulled by hand, and the cows, fed mainly on grass, are outside by day for much of the year. The milk from the tap is sold raw, and a small share of it is turned on the farm into full-fat yoghurt and kwark (a thick fresh curd cheese). Their raw-milk cheese, Parelkaas, is made from their own milk by an outside cheesemaker. The beef comes mostly from their own retired milkers and bull calves raised to about two years, and is sold vacuum-packed and frozen. The eggs and juice in the shop come from other organic producers.
The milk tap and vending machine, which sells refillable bottles, are open Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 20:00. The shop opens on Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 to 16:00.
The farm breeds for a long working life rather than high yield per cow, so a cow leaves the herd at eight years old on average, against a national average of five and a half.