Marijke (44) from Burgerbrug started as a shepherd when she was twenty. Back then as a hobby with a modest number of seven sheep. The herd has now grown to more than three thousand animals and it has long ceased to be a hobby. Accompanied by a symphony of the herd’s bleating, she tells NH Nieuws how, in her opinion, our agriculture can be a lot more sustainable.
“Agriculture and nature should simply be one again, and we can! We can really use the landscape, harvest and add natural value at the same time. Most people don’t know what we can do, which ensures that price is again leading in the agriculture. Then you come back to the kilo blasters. That way we cannot continue to develop properly as a circular agricultural company. But there is an incredible intrinsic motivation, but how do we show that it is possible and that it is extremely important. should be much more important than price.”
Grassing
“We now have about three thousand sheep in our herds and our entire company is dedicated to biodiversity and in line with nature. For example, we use the sheep to manage the landscape.”
“Too much grass grows in the dunes, which is due to nitrogen deposition. We used to have rabbits that ate all the grass. But the rabbits disappear, so the grass continues to grow. And grass grows much faster than native plants, it then overgrows really the whole dune. Then PWN thought, what we need is a flock of sheep to graze it away.”
“I still think lambing time is a golden time, then I am at my happiest”
“In addition to working in the dunes, we also have herds that pass through the surrounding villages. This means that the sheep move very slowly through the village and eat the grass bit by bit. “The big mower scares the other mammals. This way, with the sheep, provides much more biodiversity and is much kinder to nature. And the grass is not dumped elsewhere, but is simply eaten by our sheep.”
Circular Agriculture
“In addition to the natural mowers, we also produce meat with our lambs, but healthier. For example, they don’t need worming agents at all because all our sheep graze so diversely.”
“Meat, for example, is one of our circular products, but we also use russet russet. This is actually an unwanted plant that causes nuisance. We now mow it and use it to make bedding instead of straw. In this way, nature returns to our farm.”
“We also reuse our wool, because it is now a waste product. The Dutch market now much prefers to buy wool from Australia and we export our wool to China again. But because of the corona, all shepherds have an enormous wool surplus. we put our heads together and came up with an idea. We convert our wool into manure via a process with microbacteria. We then use that on our land, and so the circle is complete again.”
lambing time
“My great-uncle was always busy with sheep and lambs. When I was a young girl I also saw the lambs being born, with a little help from my uncle. When I saw that, I knew right away: I want to do this too. I I still think lambing time is a golden time. That’s when I’m at my happiest. I think it’s great to see new life emerge and it really demands something from your expertise. That’s when I feel most like a sheepherder.”
“On my father’s side there are a lot of sheep farmers in the family. My grandmother and great-uncle were really crazy about sheep. I really can’t explain why it appeals to us so much, it’s just part of my DNA I think. Everyone has something that grabs or touches you, and with me those are sheep.”
Marijke’s episode of NH Fighters will appear next Wednesday.
In the Warriors program, inspiring people from North Holland tell their story. Each and every one of them tries to make the world a little more beautiful in their own way.
Fighters is broadcast on the NH Nieuws TV channel and via our website. The stories can also be listened to as a podcast. Subscribe to it via your favorite podcast channel. Here you will find an overview of all Warriors.