ARD VAN GAALEN - LIFE BELOW WATER

Biostee is a collaborative project consisting of three organic farms in South-Beijerland, in the Dutch province of ‘Zuid Holland’. As the Biostee farms are situated at close distance to the North sea, the land consists of marine clay and is perfect for the cultivation of their crops.

BIOSTEE – THE NETHERLANDS

Ard illustrates their way of farming as healthy and sustainable: “we work the soil as our parents did, yet we are avoiding the pitfall of using more chemicals in order to survive in the battle against decreasing prices. Farmers have families and require an income, and it is quite understandable that many colleagues are afraid to step out of the chemical circle. As organic growers, we don’t use any genetically engineered seeds or crops. This helps ensure a natural and fertile environment for plants. As a result, we have immense diversity on our fields and even sow flower seeds into the borders of our land. I am proud to see barn owls in the attic that love to hunt our organic field mice. The soil and natural environment stay healthy and it results in great products’’.

The fields of Biostee are just behind the Dutch dikes and a simple phone call to the district water board is enough to have them adjust the groundwater level to ensure the farms have sufficient water: Ard comments: “This is useful but also a responsibility: if we were to pollute the water here, it would flow straight through the river and into the sea. Organic farming does not involve fertilisers or pesticides flowing into the environment”

To learn more about this grower click here.

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soil

A good farmer does not fertilise crops, but instead feeds the soil. This is an essential difference. It prevents the use of salts (artificial fertiliser) and chemicals, instead it involves manure and compost. Emphasis falls on decomposed organic material and this allows plants to grow according to their natural development. Our wide rotation of crops ensures that the soil is alive and fertile for years to come. The Lucerne we grow in winter protects the soil against erosion, produces nitrogen and keeps the soil loose thanks to its long roots.

biodiversity

You see many birds of prey, hares, pheasants, roes and farmland birds here. The dikes meander like ribbons around and through the arable land. This region is a ‘National Landscape’ and must therefore be managed carefully. There are also barn owls in the barn; which are magnificent animals! The Lucerne that remains on the land in winter is 20 cm high and a suitable habitat for animals. Our soil life has become much richer since we started working organically and as a result attracts more animals to the region.

As organic growers, we do not use any genetically engineered seeds or crops. This helps ensure a natural and fertile environment for plants. As a result, we have immense diversity on our fields and even sow flower seeds into the borders of our land.

individual

Every year 20.000 to 340.000 farmworkers die of pesticide poisoning and 1 to 5 million farmworkers get sick from it. In organic cultivation no chemical-synthetic pesticides are used and significantly less pesticide residues are found on organic products in the store. Research indicates (Fantke & Jolliet, 2016) that this also has a health effect for consumers. In short, we can say with confidence that organic fruits and vegetables, on the average, are healthier. And that also goes for our organic onions and celeriac.

society

People used to come to the farm to collect their fresh food, but nowadays civilians go to their local supermarket. As a result there is much more distance between farmers and consumers. This has changed in a single generation and therefore people are less aware of what farmers are doing and why. We do meet in winter when skating, this will always stay the same in the Netherlands! We have developed an extensive study group with a number of agrarians from the region, we hold field excursions and exchange knowledge about crops.

Being a combination of three companies makes us more resilient; we spread our risks and incur fewer costs because we work on large plots, which makes organic farming economically feasible. Some people are shocked by the fact that sustainability and high-technology go hand in hand, but we believe that new emerging methods continue to contribute to solving dilemmas in the area of food production and organic quality.

When machines can't reach places to weed, we do it manually. On average, we have work for 30 to 40 temporary employees, these employees usually work through a temporary agency. We see most of them returning every year because we treat them well. This works well for us as our manual labour is rich in experience. In August, when the work for Biostee is finished, many of the employees move on to be fruit growers. Sometimes we have entire families or communities from the same village returning for 6 or 7 years in a row.

climate

We use far less energy per hectare thanks to wide-strip row crop farming. Not wasting energy on distributing chemicals makes a huge difference. We do need to execute a few more manual operations compared to non-organic farmers but the GPS-controlled method saves energy. We certainly are efficient per kilo of product.

The organic method is naturally better for the quality of air. Manure is usually composted so we hardly emit any ammonia. Added to this by not using chemicals we decrease pollution and our emission of CO2. We also manage to limit driving up and down large plots by working efficiently. While these methods are good, more can be done and it is not optimal yet.

water

Our fields are just behind the dike and a simple phone call to the district water board is enough to have them adjust the groundwater level to ensure we have sufficient water. This is useful but also a responsibility: if we were to pollute the water here, it would flow straight through the river and into the sea. Organic farming does not involve fertilisers or pesticides flowing into the environment.

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