Farmer Thom Huitema

Farmer Thom Huitema manages the dairy farm of V.O.F. Vendrig, a relatively small-scale dairy farm with 50 cows, just outside Ransdorp. But, on this farm you will not only find cows. To broaden their activities, the Vendrig family has decorated the hay barn as a country-style event venue, complete with hay bales, sheepskins, crates and other farmhouse nostalgia. In the barn where the calves stay, you will find another surprise: on the other side of a glass wall, nursery the farm has been set up, where children spend the day in connection with nature and in the fresh air.

As you can see, V.O.F. Vendrig's farm is not just about farming. Earning on the side in this way is not unique. As you may have seen along the route, many farms in the area have expanded their operations to include a local produce shop, B&B, group accommodation, day care or room rental. In this way, V.O.F. Vendrig hopes to future-proof their business.

Future-oriented

Farmer Thom sees the importance of being proactive and forward-looking. To be able to farm for a long time to come, it is important to manage and monitor the land himself to preserve it for future generations. For this reason, he joined the club of farmers taking action in collaboration with Water, Land and Dykes to combat subsidence. During excursions in other parts of the country, to farmers who are ahead in terms of measures against subsidence, farmer Thom was inspired to get involved in this himself.

As with all farmers, monitoring wells were first installed in the ground to identify the problem. It is a simple but effective system: plastic tubes are inserted vertically into the ground at various points in the ground level. The farmer then lowers a weight on a measuring tape until it touches water, after which you read the groundwater level on the measuring tape. Farmer Thom was also shocked by the result; after a dry summer, the groundwater level had dropped quite a bit.

Trench infiltration

To quickly make a difference, V.O.F. Vendrig chose to initially address this problem by creating trenches in their pastures. First in part of the land, to be able to measure the effect properly. The ditches are connected to a ditch with a high water level of 20 centimetres below ground level. The deeper ditches allow rainwater to be drained into the ditch, but they can also be used to supply water instead, keeping the water level higher. These ditches will be constructed in the land near Vendrig Farm in 2023. In the future, farmer Thom is also considering looking at pressure drains. Read the Zant family's story to find out how this system works. Installing pressure drainage is quite a drain on your land and turf, but it does make it easier to regulate water levels. As a result, cattle may be able to get out to the land earlier, and back into the barn later in the year. That means happy cows and better milk quality.

Because happy they are, farmer Thom's cows. The small scale of the dairy farm means he has time to give his cows real attention. The cattle get good feed, as much fresh grass as possible and time in the meadow, which makes them very relaxed. This pays off, as V.O.F. Vendrig has one of the highest milk productions per cow in the country - in North Holland they get second place and out of all of the Netherlands they are number 14.

Meadow birds

This just proves that farmer and nature go well together, a nature-friendly approach does not have to come at the expense of a productive dairy farm. Besides taking measures against subsidence, farmer Thom is also very active in other voluntary nature management. Part of the land is set aside for the meadow bird population that makes this area so special. Delayed mowing, the spreading of rough manure from the barn and a private puddle grass in the field makes this farm an oasis for the birds. The meadow bird population has already increased in recent years due to these efforts. Thus, farmer Thom is working with nature to future-proof the farm. Yet they see the boundaries of the city of Amsterdam getting closer and closer as the years go by. Whether these measures are enough, time will tell

The milk from farmer Thom's cows is made into tasty cheese in Lutjewinkel, North Holland. At the farm, this cheese is also sold. Would you like to take a piece with you? Then call TELEPHONE NUMBER. Cycle back towards Ransdorp and continue the route to junction 47.