Farming
According to CBS (Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics), in 2019 there are about 380 commercial goat dairy farms in the Netherlands. Among them a total of 50 deliver goat milk to our GMP milk powder factory. By keeping long-term contracts with the local farmers and cooperating together, we are able to secure fresh milk for our products.
The major dairy goat breed in the Netherlands is Saanen, known also as the “Dutch white goat”. Saanen breed is considered as one of the best dairy goat breed worldwide for its high milk yield result compared to other breeds.
Animal welfare
Animal welfare has gained more and more attention in the past decade, hence our goat farmers also attach great importance to the living condition of our precious goats.
Currently our farmers are working on topics such as increasing outdoor space & clambering material and encouraging natural herd behavior to further improve animal welfare.
Feeding
The feed for dairy goats usually consists of a combination of cut maize, silage grass and concentrates. This feed combination covers the need for energy, protein and minerals which is essential for producing milk of high quality.
There is also a professional feed advisor that visits the farm every six weeks to check feed quality and discuss results with farmers. On top of that, all our farmers meet the requirements of VLOG (Verband Lebensmittel Ohne Gentechnik). This means that no animal feed made with or from genetically modified organisms is used.
Milking
At our farms the goats are milked twice a day in a clean milking parlor, the milk is then transported immediately to a cooling storage tank where it is cooled at 4°C to maintain its freshness. Every three days the milk is collected by the milk truck. Samples are taken from every milk collection and tested in the laboratory at our plant, where the fat & protein level are checked among other things.
From feeding to milking, the dedication and commitment of our farmers can be seen in each step of the farming process, which forms the basis of our premium goat dairy products.