An Overview Of Our Solution
In a peri urban region it is better to optimize ecosystemservices in a multi-layered landscape than to maximize only one ecosystemservice in each part of a landscape with separated functions. With our farm we don’t want to adjust the landscape to make it more productive but we adapt our farming system to the need for optimizing ecosystemservices on the landscape level. On our organic farm, managing over 100 hectares of nature reserve, including wetlands, moorland and grassland, we have developed an innovative HNV (High Nature Value) farming system. By working with local nature conservation groups and the Flemish Nature and Forestry Agency, using suitable livestock breeds, and a short supply chain, we have proved that it is possible to run a profitable, small scale organic HNV farm in a densily populated region.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Suburban
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Europe
General Information
Organization type
Corporation
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Freshwater
Grasslands
Population impacted
1000 people
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
100 ha
Production quantity
6 ton of beef, 600 kg of lamb, hundreds of visitors and a lot of biodiversity a year
People employed
1
Solution
Describe your solution
I spended halve my professional career on developing strategies to bring agriculture and nature together working for nature conservation organisations. After this I wanted to put my beliefs and experience into practice. In 2001 I took over a diary Farm in Diest, situated in the middle of a Natura 2000 area and near to my ancesteral land. I started immediately to work together with the nature conservationist who are managing the nature reserves around. I had to develop a new way of farming. Year by year my farm could grow. Nowadays we have 60 catlle, 150 sheep on 110 ha of which 100 ha are nature reserves. Since 2011 I work full time on my farm. Knowing that the average cattle farm in Flanders is not profitable, it is an achievement to create an income with livestock, especially in these difficult conditions.
With our farm we don’t want to adjust the landscape to make it more productive but we adapt our farming system to the conditions of the conservation objectives in the nature reserves. We use self-reliant rustic breeds of cattle and sheep, that are able to digest low-quality grass, converting it to high-quality animal protein. Utilising these threatened local breeds, has the additional cultural benefit of preservation of genetic resources. Using a dual purpose breed of cattle we have both milk and meat wich give a strong growth of the calves at a low price. We combine this with agrotourism, resulting in a symbiosis between nature development, tourism and agriculture.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
Natuurboerderij het Bolhuis is an organic farm raising beef cows and sheep, managing over 100 hectares of nature reserve, including wetlands, moorland and grassland. We use local breeds, who are able to thrive on low grade feed and marginal grassland. Over the years we have developed an innovative HNV (High Nature Value) farming system. By working with local nature conservation groups and the Flemish Nature and Forestry Agency, using suitable livestock breeds, and a short supply chain, we have proved that it is possible to run a profitable, small scale organic HNV farm in a densily populated region. The areas where our animals graze -- wet and grassy fields for the cows and dry heather and brush terrain for the sheep -- are not suitable areas for growing crops. Our farm converts ‘waste products’ from nature land to high quality, protein rich food for people (meat) together with protecting nature in a way that impact on climate change, environment … is as low as possible.
Other waste products from nature management activities (such as grass cuttings and removed sod) are composted and used to fertilize orchards and agricultural fields. We are creating a community of other organic HNV-farmers, clients, supporters and partners who are aware of the connection between food production and the natural landscape around us.
I inspire other farmers as a lecturer. I facilitate scientific research in collaboration with scientific institutes and work on agricultural projects with local authorities in Natura 2000 areas. Critical succes factors are cooperation with nature conservation groups and authorities, creating a unique selling proposition and having a short supply chain. Obstacles are the actual flemish agricultural and environmental policy wich has little attention for HNV-farming. I work together with authorities and scientific institutes to identify these obstacles and to develllop proposals to overcome them.
External connections
- Nature and Forestry Agency of the Flemish governement (www.natuurenbos.be). I manage 60 ha of their nature reserves. Advice on working together with farmers.
- Natuurpunt (Flemish NGO for nature conservation). I manage 40 ha of their nature reserves. I work together with the local nature conservation group by organising activities etc.
- Flemish Institute for Agricultural research (ILVO) and University of Gent: participation in phd-research of dr. Jarinda Viaene ‘Optimal valorization of organic-biological byproducts from the primary sector with a focus on composting’
- University of Leuven, contribution to phd-research of Frederik Lerouge: Evaluating land use strategies for agricultural production using the ecosystem services concept
- Mieco-effect: consulting firm with whom I work together on projects about farming and biodiversity (https://www.miecoeffect.be/onze-mensen/)
- Odisee University campus Sint Niklaas: guest lecturer
- Flemish institute for nature conservation: our farm is shown in the nature report on ecosystemservices as one of the pioneers: https://www.inbo.be/nl/bioboerderij-bolhuis
- De Biogenoten: collaboration of local organic HNV-farmers http://www.innerfireworks.com/biogenoten.html
- A lot of volunteers who work on the farm
- A community of 600 people who reeds our newsletter and buys our organic products
- lecturer and mentoring of trainees with agricultural educational institutions
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
In a densily populated region as Flanders (Belgium), land is very scarce, agriculture is very intensive and there is litlle space for nature. Nature and agriculture see eachother as competitors in stead of partners and that's a missed opportunity. We need to protect nature and its ecosystemservices because it is necessary for all people, now and in the future. It is better to optimize all different ecoystemservices together in a multi-layered landscape than to maximize only one ecosystemservice in each part of a landscape with separated functions. In this context farmers can be a part of the solution for environmental and biodivirsity challenges in stead of only the problem. I want to devellop ways in which farmers can produce food and protect biodiversity in a socio-economically viable way.
Describe the context in which you are operating
Our farm is located in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. Flanders is a largely peri-urban region with high population pressure. The Flemish landscape is highly fragmented and urbanized, with a high degree of private land ownership and considerable pressure on the remaining open space. Population pressure results in an increasing demand for food and bio-energy products and hence also in an increasing demand for agricultural land. This demand is in competition with the demand for land for residential, conservation, forestry, recreational, and other purposes. Traditionally, spatial planning has focused on the allocation of land to space demanding sectors and on minimizing spatial conflicts. This further exacerbates the existing sectoral polarization.
Although the awareness increases that agricultural systems provide other services besides food and biomass production, many of these services are non-marketable. Because free markets fail to provide sufficient incentives for delivering these services, a dominant production logic may push agricultural systems towards a state that is sub-optimal from a societal point of view.
54 % of Flanders is used as agricultural land, 16 % of Flanders is designated as Natura 2000. The number of farmers decreases by 4% a year. More than 50 % of the European protected species and more than 75 % the European protected habitat are in a very bad conservation status in Flanders.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
By working together with nature conservation organisations we manage over 100 ha of nature reserves. On this natural land we work according to the nature management plans. Grazing density, grazing period, mowing time … are in function of the biodiversity goals. This resulted in the improvement of biodiversity in the region: intensive grasslands were converted into natural grasslands, agressive exotic species like American oak (Quercus rubra) were reduced by sheep grazing, pineforests were converted into heathland … Different endangered species were preserved or could come back like orchids, lousewort, water ragwort, Marsh harrier, great egret, bluethroat, kingfisher … European protected habitats like lowland hay meadows, species rich Nardus grasslands, dry heat, Calthion palustris wet meadows … were restored or conserved.
We took measures on the farm so typical farmanimals can live here like sparrows, black redstart, swallow, barn owl, Geoffroy’s bat.
We use the old local cattle breed ‘Kempens roodbont rund’. We could preserve this breed form extinction by starting again a herdbook and bringing together the few breeds who left.
Language(s)
English, we speak dutch
Water
Most of our grazing areas are situated in rivervalleys wich are used as floodplains to prevent flooding.
Food Security/Nutrition
We produce meat of our cattle and sheep and sell it to our customers
Economic/Sustainable Development
Our farm is profitabel without negative impact on the environment, biodiversity, the south, ... and give food to hundreds of people
Climate
We work as local as possible. Most of our feed is produced on the farm. We focus on the carbon sequestration capacity of the soil, f.i. by making and using our own compost. There is enough land for our animals.
Sustainability
The farmings system we developed is based on improving capacity of agricultural systems to ensure ecosystem services, but also the need to intensify outputs without further compromising environmental quality and other ecosystem services. Our farming system is economically viable. Our income comes from the sale of the meat of our cattle and sheep (67 %), agro tourism (11 %) and farm subsidies (22 %). Our farming system has a great resilience. We have a high degree of self-sufficiency, as most of the required feed is produced on-farm. The high degree of semi-natural elements leads to additional resilience through regulating ecosystem services. Our farm benefits from diversifying by valorization biodiversity through ecotourism.
Return on investment
It took several years to develop this farming system. Now the farm is economical viable.
The investment was low because the naturland is owned by nature conservation organitations. We only had to invest in farmbuildings, cattle, machinery and knowledge.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
When we started, there were almost no farmers in Flanders working like this. Since a few years some farmers are inspired by my farm and start in a comparible way.
There is need for more research and development on nature inclusive agriculture. There is a lot of knowledge on nature conservation and a lot of knowledge on agriculture but there is very little knowledge on how to create farming systems wich produce food in an economically viable way while protecting biodiversity.
There is also need for training farmers and nature conservationists about the possibilities of collaboration.
Our approach is replicable in all peri-urban regions. Important is having knowledge about the relation of farming and biodiversity.