Beemster cheese celebrates 10-year anniversary of Caring Dairy

This year, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Caring Dairy, the world's first sustainability program for dairy farmers. All of our Beemster cheese farmers are participating in this special program.
With the motto "Happy cows, happy farmers and happy earth" motto, we are actively working to make the chain more sustainable, from cow to cheese. Together with Ben & Jerry's, we launched a special program in 2008 to accelerate this development. Ten years later, we can proudly say that we have achieved an incredible amount with Caring Dairy. The biggest benefit: our farmers are producing milk in an increasingly sustainable way.

Beemster cheese has listed the 10 most important wins and salient facts of Caring Dairy for you.
1. Farmers of Beemster cheese were the first farmers in the world to join a sustainability program in 2008. As a trendsetter, they gave a huge boost to cow welfare in the Netherlands.
2. The farmers who supply the milk for Beemster cheese all work according to the continuous improvement principle of Caring Dairy. Through workshops on sustainability the farmers strengthen their knowledge which gives them direct guidance for their own operations.
3. One of the most important pillars of the sustainability program is outdoor grazing. The farmers of Beemster cheese graze their cows for an average of 180 days, which is much longer than the national standard of 120 days.
4. Because of the longer grazing period, the cows eat on average three times more fresh grass than an average cow. And fresh grass is healthy and nutritious. In 2002 Beemster cheese was the first dairy cooperative in the Netherlands to give cattle farmers a premium for outdoor grazing. After all, good milk is the basis for delicious cheese and Beemster cheese believes that a happy cow produces tastier and better milk.
5. The Caring Dairy farmers, together with our veterinarians, have developed a so-called KoeKompas, which looks at all aspects of animal health on the farm. The KoeKompas has now been adopted throughout the Netherlands as a method for optimizing cow welfare.
6. But also inside the barn, the cows of Beemster cheese are given plenty of pampering. In the past 10 years, for example, 200 new, sustainable dairy barns have been built within our cooperative, with extra attention to animal welfare and the environment. This is with half of our Caring Dairy farmers.
7. For cows to rest adequately, a good bedding is important. All cows have access to a soft bed and massage brush and their own lying area.
8. Farmers who are members of Caring Dairy actively work to improve the environment by using part of their land for nature conservation, meadow bird protection, and encouraging biodiversity.
9. The farmers are already generating more energy than they need themselves, including through the use of solar panels, heat pumps, and wind turbines. What is left over is supplied through the grid to other households and businesses.
10. At a large number of farms, part of the barn is set up for meetings and at many farms the public is welcome for guided tours or a visit to the farm store. There are also relatively many care farms within the cooperative. These initiatives provide the livestock farmer with a new source of income and involvement in society.