Dutch dairy & beef · since 1996
Healthy herds,
honest farming
Eleven family farms across Gelderland, Friesland and Overijssel, milking 2,340 cows and finishing our own dairy-beef calves. Our cows are out at grass an average of 182 days a year — and we publish the numbers behind that, the good ones and the ones we are still working on.
Eight dairy farms · 2,340 cows
Milk
We milk twice a day on eight of our farms and around the clock on the robots at Dalfsen. Milk leaves the yard within 48 hours, chilled to 4°C, and goes to two regional processors we have supplied for more than fifteen years. Every tank is tested for cell count, butterfat, protein and antibiotic residue before it is collected.
- Meadow milk from five farms
- Cell count 168,000/ml
- Two regional processors
Hoeve Ommen · 420 cattle
Beef
Our beef comes from our own dairy herds. Cows not needed for replacements are bred to Belgian Blue or Limousin sires, and those calves are reared at Ommen rather than sold on at two weeks old. They stay in the same ownership from birth to finish, so the buyer knows exactly what they are getting and we know exactly how the animal was raised.
- Born and finished in the group
- Straw-bedded pens, outdoor yards
- Home-grown grass and maize
Our welfare promise
Four things we will not compromise on
Animal welfare on a farm is not a certificate on a wall. It is a set of small daily decisions about bedding, space, feed and when to call the vet.
Grass under their feet
Every cow fit to walk goes out. Minimum 120 days and six hours a day on our meadow-milk farms; the group average is 182. Paddocks rotate on a 21-day cycle so cows always move onto fresh grass, not bare ground.
Room to lie down
One cubicle per cow, never shared, bedded with sawdust or lime-and-straw and raked twice daily. Barns are naturally ventilated, and fans and sprinklers cut in above 22°C so cows keep eating through a hot July.
Treated early, not late
Locomotion and body-condition scoring every fortnight, preventive hoof trimming twice a year, and a vet on farm monthly rather than only in emergencies. Antibiotics when an animal needs them, recorded every time.
Nothing hidden
We publish calf mortality, antibiotic use and lameness scores to our buyers each quarter, whether the numbers improved or not. If you buy from us you can walk any of our yards with a day’s notice.
Our farms
Eleven yards, three provinces, one set of rules
Each farm keeps its own family name and its own way of doing things. What they share is the herd health plan, the grazing commitment and the audit they all sit through every quarter.
- family farms
- 11family farmsacross three provinces
- dairy cows
- 2,340dairy cowsHolstein and Fleckvieh
- days at grass
- 182days at grassaverage per cow, per year
- first Hoeve
- 1978first HoeveLunteren, Gelderland
Sustainability
Manure, energy and emissions — the unglamorous work
Most of what makes a dairy farm greener happens in the slurry store and the feed trough. It is not photogenic, so here it is in plain words.
Manure, handled properly
Slurry is separated into a thick fraction we compost for bedding and a thin fraction injected shallowly into grassland in spring, when the crop can actually use the nitrogen. Injecting rather than broadcasting cuts ammonia loss by roughly two-thirds and stops the smell drifting into the village.
68%less ammonia from injected slurry vs. broadcasting
Energy from our own roofs
Barn and shed roofs at seven farms carry solar, together 1.9 MWp. Plate coolers pre-chill milk with well water before the compressors start, and that warmed water goes straight back to the drinking troughs instead of down the drain.
1.9 MWprooftop solar across seven farms
Lower emissions, honestly measured
A low-emission floor went in at Hoeve Ede in 2023 and we are measuring it for two full years before we spend money rolling it out elsewhere. Feed rations are balanced on protein so cows are not excreting nitrogen they never needed.
−14%CO₂e per kilo of milk since 2019
People ask what our welfare policy is. The honest answer is that I walk the herd every morning before I do anything else, and if a cow is not right I deal with her that day. Everything written down afterwards is just us keeping ourselves to that.
Work with us
Season work, with a rota you can plan a life around
We hire by the season — the spring calving block, the grazing months, silage and maize, then winter housing. Most contracts are open to applicants from outside the EU, with the seasonal work permit sponsored and filed by us.
- Calving Season AssistantLunteren, Gelderland · Full-time · 5 places
- Calf Rearing AssistantBolsward, Friesland · Full-time · 4 places
- Grazing Season Herd HandDalfsen, Overijssel · Full-time · 4 places
8 open roles · 30 places this season
Buying milk, buying cattle, or just curious?
Processors and meat buyers can ask us for volumes, testing data and audit results. Neighbours, students and anyone who wants to see how the animals actually live can ask for a farm visit — we run those most months.
- Emailinfo@dehoeves.eu
- Office, LunterenHoevelaan 14, Lunteren