Interview sun good
'Of course a crop does not grow on euros'
The arable farm Zonnegoed of Joost van Strien and Christiaan Feickens has received the first Biocyclic Vegan quality mark in the Netherlands. It means that the food production on the farm is completely animal-free. "We already started experimenting with cut-and-carry fertilizers in 2008, because I expect this to be the future. It has to be different, it has to be better for the soil. That means fewer animals and less fertilizer, but then you need an alternative. We have now found that," says Van Strien.
In 1992, Joost van Strien took over the (then common) arable farm Zonnegoed in Ens from his mother-in-law at the time. "I did that after graduating in Wageningen," says the arable farmer. "Although I always had a certain ideal. In Wageningen I had become enthusiastic about organic farming and I had actually already decided that – if I were to take over the company – I would eventually like to turn it into an organic company. I did five years later, in 1997."
Since then, Van Strien has taken all kinds of steps to set up and further shape the company to his liking. The arable farm today covers 93 hectares and the main crops are: potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, beetroot and onion sets. "This year we also had broad beans for the first time. And of course the mixture of alfalfa, clover and grass is very important to us. That is our cut-and-carry fertilizer."
Circular agriculture
Van Strien took this step because he likes to think about the agriculture of the future. "I think it is important to look ahead and respond to developments. However, I also like to initiate developments myself on matters that I consider important." This thinking about the future mainly arose when agriculture minister Carola Schouten started talking about circular agriculture. According to Van Strien, that is not the case. "At least, a closed cycle is not possible. Because the biggest leak is what we earn the most from: our products. This removes a whole lot of minerals from our agricultural system that eventually ends up in the incinerator via the sewer. money, but a crop doesn't grow on euros."
According to Van Strien, this is also the reason why we depend on fertilizers or artificial means. "Animal manure is part of agriculture. But it is not the case that a cow contributes anything when it comes to minerals. In my view, we should therefore limit the number of animals, but also the use of fertilizers. After all, if if you assume that the soil is the basis for food production, then the use of fertilizers is counterproductive in the long run, but it also means that there is less input for vegetable cultivation on both sides. invent and that's what I did."
Biovegan
The company is the first in the Netherlands to have the Biocyclic Vegan label. This means that the products are officially 'biovegan'. "By the way, this did not necessarily start with the above vision. We already started experimenting with cut-and-carry fertilizers (vegetable fertilization) in 2008. That was the reason for me to think about the following question: how can we do organic farming without conventional fertilizers? I came to the conclusion that we could easily do without it if we focused more on nitrogen fixation, because that was and is the bottleneck."
According to Van Strien, too little is currently being done in the Netherlands to fix nitrogen with leguminous plants. "That plot on which you grow alfalfa, grass or clover does not yield anything in the short term. That is the reason that it is rarely used. But in my opinion it is the solution to a self-sufficient organic agricultural system. in any case, that's the reason to get started with those cut-and-carry fertilizers, and that eventually evolved into getting the Biocyclic Vegan quality mark." The quality mark means that Van Strien's company works according to the principle of 'a completely animal-free method of food production'.
According to the farmer, it is the future. "It is where we are moving towards. I have already taken an advance on this with my company in recent years and experimented. In the end it turned out to be so successful that we have now dared to take the decision to switch completely to a company without animal manure. " The farmer does not want to be a loner. According to him, it is a method that every arable farmer can apply. "It has only been ten days since it became known that we were awarded this quality mark, but we have already had a lot of reactions. This is what appeals to people. It is a niche. But it is interesting for anyone who consciously works with food That is why I have faith in this market and then more farmers will eventually dare to take the step."
It is already happening abroad, says Van Strien. There are several companies in Germany and Greece that have received the quality mark, but these are not necessarily examples for arable farmers. "The conditions there are very different. In Greece they grow bananas and oranges, we don't do that here. And we already knew the trick, because we already started experimenting in 2008. So we already knew a little bit how it would work for us. ." He therefore thinks that it is best to just try these types of methods. "Although of course you can always learn from someone else."
Agriculture of the future
Van Strien said earlier that he likes to think about 'the agriculture of the future'. But we are not there yet. "A lot still needs to be done to make agriculture really healthy. After all, our tractors still run on fossil fuels. We will eventually have to get rid of that. That is the next step. But of course we cannot do everything at the same time. is a joint task. And I think it's great to see sustainable initiatives appearing everywhere in agriculture. They are good examples for farmers who can't or don't dare yet."
Kimberly Baker
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