Ayoub Louihrani is a young farmer from Amsterdam. He dreams of owning his own farm in the future. He also wants to connect the city with the countryside. He thinks it is important that people from the city also know where their food comes from. In the first episode he meets three young farmers. Ayoub is curious about their dreams. How do they view the farmer and our food of the future?
First of all, Ayoub meets 28-year-old farmer Ilse Boersen. “I see some nice cows, but can you get by?” Ilse explains: “For the future we have expanded and we now also make ice cream.” She happily invites Ayoub to make ice cream from the milk the cows have given in the morning.
The young farmer from Amsterdam is looking forward to it. “I’ve never made ice cream before. I feel like I’m going to train with Gordon Ramsey. You know that one?” Farmer Ilse responds with pleasure: “Well I’m not that strict.” Ayoub appreciates it and for a moment imagines himself Gordon Ramsey: “Hahah, get the f*cking icecream!”
Watch the episode of Expedition Noord-Holland with Ayoub below. Text continues below the video.
Real regional products
Pig farmer Tim van der Mark from de Beemster strongly believes in the power of local collaboration. Ayoub wonders why Tim is so focused on the area? “The Beemsterlants pig is a real regional product, which is why we want to distinguish ourselves,” says Tim.
“We buy barley and grain from a farmer near here. We know each other well. He is also from the Beemster. I find it more fun to buy grain from him than from a food supplier from Germany that I don’t know. Buying this from a nearby arable farmer also saves on transport. In that sense it is more sustainable. We make our own feed for the pigs from that grain and barley.”
Ayoub can help with the scanning of the pregnant sows. This way the piglets can be seen and counted. When the gate opens, a pig escapes. Ayoub almost gets knocked over and says with a laugh and amazement: “He just shoves me hardcore, what a *** asshole!”
“I think it’s great that people are welcome here at this company 24/7”
Pig farmer Tim also lets people look around his company with a real pig sky box. A space through which you can see the pigs roaming through a large window. Ayoub is impressed: “I think it’s great that people are welcome here at this company 24/7. I think that’s hard.”
Cheese farmer Rona Uitentuis (37) shows Ayoub how to make cheese in the Beemster. Her cow business is famous for Messeklever, an artisanal cheese that is normally only made in the fall. Fortunately, Ayoub can help make Gouda cheese. “Totally slim”, Ayoub says with admiration when the cheese is made very carefully in several steps.
with ketchup
Ayoub sees that the farmer’s wife does more as an entrepreneur than just making cheese. The farm has side activities such as workshops, clay pigeon shooting, farmer’s golf and a care farm. Ayoub wonders why the farmer’s wife does so much? “We like it and that way we get multiple incomes because there are four of us.”
When the cheese is ready, Ayoub can taste a piece of a previously made cheese. “You can stop filming because now I’m not going to talk anymore.”
If program maker Koen Bugter asks Ayoub what exactly he is tasting? “I can taste cheese, brother. Delicious man. This would be delicious as a sandwich. With ketchup. It is really tasty.”
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