The Field Guideby Moss & MarrowHoeve Biesland
- Cattle, sheep or goats graze on pasture in the grazing season
- Pigs and poultry live free range: outdoors on pasture, in woodland or a run
- No synthetic pesticides or fertiliser (certified)
- Closed-loop farming
Hoeve Biesland is an organic dairy farm in the polder at Delfgauw, between Delft, The Hague and Rotterdam, with its own shop, bakery, butchery and dairy.
About 360 cows, oxen and young stock graze the peat meadows and nature reserves around the farm when the ground allows, and otherwise stay in a covered barn yard; their manure feeds herb-rich grassland, so no synthetic fertiliser is needed. Raw milk is sold from a self-service tap in the shop, and the farm's dairy makes pasteurised, non-homogenised milk, yoghurt and butter. Beef comes from their own Fleckvieh and Blonde d'Aquitaine cross cows, which are milked first and get antibiotics only to save a life, and is aged slowly in the farm butchery. Chicken, pork and lamb come from other organic farms, not yet confirmed. The bread is all sourdough, and the market garden grows about fifty vegetables and herbs. The farm is certified organic (SKAL); we found it in the register.
The shop is open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00 and Saturday from 9:00 to 17:00. The weekly Kistje vol Smaak vegetable box is delivered on Thursdays around Delft, The Hague and Rotterdam or collected from 14 pickup points; chicken carcasses can be ordered by email.
Ditch-bank mowings serve as bedding for the cows, and the compost made from it goes to organic arable farmers whose harvest the shop sells.