Adri Schouten

Adri Schouten, together with his wife Saskia, runs a land-based business with 45 hectares of grassland and 70 dairy cattle, mostly Holstein cattle. He tries to close the cycle of grass-milk-manure as much as possible. That is why he prefers not to rent out any more land for growing tulips and would rather dry his own grass. Of course, the cows are outside as much as possible. Six hours a day, that's not pasturing, that's getting some fresh air'.

The most important thing is that the soil produces better grass. And that's what I'm all about'.

Everyone understands the concept of circular agriculture differently. Some say: if my manure is used elsewhere and I get maize or grass in return, that is also a cycle. And who am I to say otherwise? I can only say what I understand it to mean and I try to act accordingly as far as possible.

It all starts with the size of your farm. I have a closed farm, with 70 cows and 12 calves and 12 heifers I can manage and give all the animals the attention they need. And to grow, I would have to rent land somewhere else, drive manure there and that takes time and diesel, or I would have to buy more feed. That's not circular agriculture to me.

I am a grass farmer. So my cows have to walk outside as much as possible and eat as much fresh grass as possible. Of course, you have to draw the line somewhere, but 6 hours a day, the national grazing standard, is for me a breath of fresh air. In the summer, my cows get 21 hours a day. They go out in March, April and come in at the beginning of November. In a year, they are outside almost 4000 hours. It is good for the animals, and it brings in a few extra cents in grazing premiums. The young cattle are also outside. They have to learn to graze and it is best to start as early as possible.

I still mix maize with the silage, but eventually I want to get rid of that. Now you have that feed mixer truck in front of your door every day, which is great, but that is also diesel that is used. It's all in the margins; in circular farming there are so many knobs you can turn.

I have had a sealed rubber floor in my barn since 2005. At the time, many people thought I was crazy: grids worked fine, didn't they? And what is wrong with concrete? But I have not regretted it for a second. The cows don't really have claw problems any more and I rarely have lame cows as a result.

And I can easily separate the dry and wet manure. Manure and urine don't belong together. It's not natural, the process is just not right. That's another reason why it's better for cows to walk outside.

Now I mainly use farmyard manure on the land, and that is what I was trying to do. The way they used to do it. It's better for the soil because it becomes more aerated and allows rainwater to pass through better. I spread slurry with the dragging foot, with plenty of water, between the grass on the land. I use much less artificial fertiliser now.

You really have to fertilise for years to get good land and good grass. The old land that has belonged to the farm for 150 years produces the best grass. Believe it or not, when the cows graze there, I notice it immediately: they give more milk.

If I have soil research done now, all the columns are green. That was different before. I miss the income, but also the costs and the hassle of extra fertilisation, but the most important thing is that the soil produces better grass. And that is what it is all about for me.

I want to be a pioneer and eventually stop mixing corn and use as little feed concentrates as possible. Of course, I already feed GMO-free.