The Field Guideby Moss & MarrowHoogerbrugge Natuurlijk!
- Cattle, sheep or goats graze on pasture in the grazing season
Hoogerbrugge Natuurlijk! is a farm in the Rotterdam polder of Schieveen that has kept Limousin cattle since 1999 and sells their beef directly from the farm.
The cows calve naturally, the calves suckle from their mothers for ten months, and no unnecessary medication is given. The herd is outside in the polder for most of the year eating varied roughage, and the grassland is managed extensively without synthetic fertiliser. Every cow is registered in the herdbook of the Limousin Vereniging Nederland.
The beef is sold every three to four weeks: a butcher cuts it in a mobile butchery on the farmyard, and the meat is packed into the ordered packages and handed out fresh, not frozen, the same day. You order a package of 5, 10 or 25 kilos by email and receive a confirmation with the pickup date. Every package contains steak, stewing and braising cuts, tartare, a marrow bone and shank with soup meat for broth, and the 25-kilo package adds tenderloin, rolled roast and roast beef. Burgers, sausages and loose cuts can be ordered by email, vacuum packing is available on request, and the butcher can cut special pieces such as bavette when the order list allows.
The extensive grazing keeps the polder grassland varied and helps the meadow birds that nest there.