More than 80 percent of the Dutch organic poultry farms combine their main activity with another organic products. However, Jaap van Deelen is one of only a handful who combine poultry with dairy cattle. With 25.000 hens and 45 cows, Van Deelen has quite a few mouths to feed.

Eggs are the main product for Van Deelen, who has his farm in the hamlet of De Glind in the eastern province of Gelderland. “I deliver my eggs to one single packing station, from where more than three quarters of the production is shipped to Germany”, he explains.

Highly appreciated eggs
Eggs are a major organic export product, he says. “Per capita consumption in the Netherlands is not bad, it’s about 4 or 5 percent of the total, but in Germany consumption is twice as high and Germany is not self-sufficient when it comes to production.”

So, what is it that makes Germany choose Dutch eggs over eggs from other regions? “Dutch organic eggs are highly appreciated”, says Van Deelen. “The reasons is a combination of things. First of all, the quality of Dutch organic eggs is excellent. On top of that we have a highly refined system for distribution, which guarantees the freshness of our products on a daily basis, short delivery times and reliability.”

Guided research
As chairman of the Netherlands association of organic poultry farmers, Van Deelen is also closely involved with research and development. “We have a product group to filter out research projects. This means we can actually guide research projects which are of interest to the organic poultry industry.” The research is usually done by Wageningen University and the Louis Bolk Institute.

All this would seem to mean that there is room for impressive growth in the world of Dutch organic poultry. But Van Deelen is a cautious man, a farmer. “For next year I am certain that there is room for growth. After that? I never make predictions.”