The story of Ahead with the Goat
'Horizon has brought together several companies that want to give value back to the goat herd. Goat farmers, Aeres Hogeschool, a transport company, a butcher and chefs... together we form a chain. Horizon's strength? They see opportunities, think along and guided us through the grant application,' says Wim van Wageningen.
Forward with the goat - A research project
Caprihoeve
Together with his brother Jeroen, Wim runs a dairy goat farm 'Caprihoeve', a farm on Visvijverweg in Lelystad where some 2,500 goats are milked. The hands-on Jeroen can mainly be found in the barn and Wim is the entrepreneur of the duo. Among other things, he is closely involved in 'Vooruit met de geitenbok', a project investigating how to market goat meat.
Change
'To produce goat milk and goat cheese, some 130,000 lambs are born every year. Half of these are bucks and they do not give milk. As goat meat is not yet widely eaten in the Netherlands, few goats are used for humane feeding. This is something we want to change.'
In the Netherlands, buck is now often seen as waste or processed as a residual product in animal feed. In southern European countries, it is a delicacy. Some animals are therefore transported to countries like Spain, Italy and Greece. 'The number of bucks born is no longer increasing significantly. This is due to the government's policy, (goat cessation) but also because goat farmers are milking duration more often, milking longer without lambing.
Minimising stress
'If more people in the Netherlands ate buck meat, we could raise the bucks. They then go along with the goats and get colostrum, milk and the care they need. When they are around 15 kilos, they are fit for human consumption. We make sure they are taken to the butcher with as little stress as possible,' Wim says.
'Ultimately, we want to improve the whole chain. In which the buck will be used as a high-quality source of protein for humans. This does require the right economic value. The right price has to be paid for high-quality food. Slogans like the highest quality for the lowest price do not fit with that. That lowest price will be paid somewhere in the chain anyway.'
Meat with a bite
'What the meat tastes like? It's meat with a bite. It is a bit similar to beef, but much softer and slightly fattier. Goat meat is a delicacy in southern Europe, Africa and Asia. That's why we think 'our' bucks are worth being transformed into tasty and healthy meals in the Netherlands too.'
Inspiration - thanks to Horizon
Value and investment
Wim explains that the idea to market buck meat originated during a Horizon meeting, in which fruit grower Peter Vereecken explained how he reuses all parts of an apple (including the core and skin). 'His story inspired us to give buck more value and invest in the image of buck meat.'
Rearing protocol
'We are now gaining experience and working on a rearing protocol so that other goat farmers can also use our knowledge. We have received a POP3 grant so that we can also involve education and that students can do research. We also have a nice website, which helps to make the existence of buck meat better known.'
'My dream? That everyone will benefit and especially the buck. I hope we can make a positive contribution to sustainability this way. Goat meat should literally and figuratively be put on the map. Together, we are going to value the buck.'