Just outside Overdinkel in Twente, and near Germany, Hans Luijerink has a veal business with rosé calves (calves that are delivered between the age of eight and twelve months). Luijerink is third generation, but he is the first veal farmer. The rosé veal company has considerable scale, but it has always remained a family business. Hans and his wife, Marloes, run the company together. “She is Managing Director and rush goalie,” Luijerink says laughing. “I make the chaos and she puts everything back on track again.” Their five children also help out in the company. Luijerink has three employees working for him as well. One is full-time and the other two are part-timers, one of whom is a young disabled person. These people have poor job prospects. Luijerink has had young disabled people working at his company for ten years now and thinks that social entrepreneurship should be part of the business. “When you guide these young men and women properly, they become an asset for us and our business as well as for society at large. They can relax and be themselves on the farm.” Luijerink has also had many interns with special needs: ADHD, autism or a combination of the two. “In the beginning, they’re still timid with their heads lowered or they walk around the whole day wearing headphones. But then after a while, you discover they’re very good with figures and ultimately they find a good job because they’re doing what they’re good at. That’s incredibly nice to see.” Luijerink thinks it is especially important that they do things themselves. “That is how they rebuild their self-esteem. You can give them bread, but it is better to teach them to how to bake it. It makes them happier. It’s a great feeling to see them coming out of their shell. Through the farm and our network, we try to give them a new place when their lives have become more stable. They are important for us and we are important for them.”

Sharp focus on welfare and prevention

Luijerink keeps his rosé calves in six stables and there are six age groups. He gets the them from Germany. The concept of importing, however, is relative. Many calves come from North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. For Luijerink, the Veluwe or North Brabant is further away. As a result, transport times are almost always limited. Luijerink has a sharp focus on welfare at his farmstead. All of the mechanically ventilated stables have a lot of light, air and space and Luijerink has been working under the Beter Leven (Better Life) quality mark for 12 years now. “The calves walk on a soft rubber floor and have more space per animal than is legally required. We’ve also built a separate ‘care stable’ so that we can separate animals quickly and properly if necessary.”

Luijerink has had good and consistent results in the stables. The daily dosage (standard measure for antibiotics usage) is remarkably low. “As a company, we work hard on prevention and we do that with inoculations and strict protocols. That’s sometimes more expensive than treatment, but we believe in it. As a family business, prevention is better than cure. Otherwise you’re always playing catchup.”

It is typical for Luijerink that he likes to keep an open vision and discuss a lot, but at the same time he and his wife want to be able to set the direction themselves. “As entrepreneurs, we value freedom and we work with several customers, including the VanDrie Group. Our freedom, however, is not separate from the long term and confidence in those business relations.  These are very important to us.”

Residual products and a lot of own corn

Luijerink tries to be circular as much as possible. For example, almost half of the feed for the rosé calves comes from residual products: wheat yeast concentrate, potato peelings, Corngold and soya hulls. This is a  conscious choice. “These products are not suitable for human consumption, but you have to do something with them,” says Luijerink. “The residual products also reduce our cost price. Even though we had to invest in storage first. We’ve built a feed shed for that purpose.”

The corn comes from neighbours who are located within a radius of five kilometres. Import here is a ‘regional product’. - Hans Luijerink

The rest of the feed consists mainly of corn and also some turnip meal and soy meal. On an annual basis, 150 hectares of corn are required and Luijerink can provide about 50% himself. The other corn comes from Germany. That ‘import’, however, does not say very much. Luijerink: “The corn comes from neighbours who are located within a radius of five kilometres. Import here is a ‘regional product’.”

In terms of energy, Luijerink is even more than self-sufficient. The 5,500 solar panels on the roofs of his stables supply electricity to 450 households. However, the entrepreneur is already looking one step ahead. He will probably soon want to get some value from calf manure. “That manure goes on our own land or to growers in the area. The plan is to produce biogas from the manure and use it to heat some 250 homes in the area.”

Licence to produce

As a veal farmer, Luijerink looks for dialogue and chooses to have an open attitude. He seeks support, even has his own rib-eyes on the menu at a local restaurant, and explicitly opens his business to interested parties. “We take good care of our animals and produce beautiful cuts of veal,” says Luijerink. “We like to tell this honest story, with all its pros and cons. It’s the best way to reach people and the responses are often very positive. You have to earn a licence to produce.” In addition, the door is always open at the family business. “We like to show people the farm. Visitors can vary from tourists to lonely elderly people, who come to take a look around and drink a beer. We look after each other here; it’s what we call noaberschap.”