01 Nov '16

The importance of quality food

9372
door Patrick Gijssels
1772 is the date the old farmhouse belonging to Jos Van den Houte and Kathleen Laureys was built. The couple's 'Potaerdehoeve' dairy farm boasts 130 dairy cows and 100 head of young cattle, for which they use a milking robot and an automatic manure scraper.

Jos and Kathleen's many good qualities include their dairy animal comfort principles, a good sense of humour, four young children and bags of enthusiasm. How very heartening to see farmers adopting a positive attitude in the midst of what is said to be an extremely difficult time for dairy farmers.

’Young farmers do have reasons to complain. For one thing, milk prices are very depressed. We have been at it for quite a while now and have fortunately managed to build up a reserve. We have group visits from time to time, when children and adults are able to become acquainted with our farm and see at first hand just how important quality food is.’ (RK, nov 2016)

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