The Beemster Story
Caring Dairy
What is Caring Dairy?
“Happy Cows, Happy Farmers, Happy Planet”
Beemster cheeses come from the quiet, canal lines pastures of the Beemster Polder in the Netherlands. This most famous Dutch polder was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. It is here that farmers work hard to preserve the landscape for future generations while providing the best care for their animals and the highest quality milk. The Caring Dairy partnership has allowed for a structured approach to help ensure ongoing sustainability steps from the cow all the way to the consumer.
Sustainable from cow to cheese for the most tasteful Beemster cheese!
What : Caring Dairy is a program focused on continuously taking action to make the chain from cow to cheese more sustainable.
Why : Caring Dairy is focused on the right balance between healthy and happy cows, paying attention to landscape, environment and a fair income for the farmers. Summarized: “Happy Cows, Happy Farmers, Happy Planet!”
Who : Caring Dairy was established in 2003 by ice-cream maker Ben & Jerry’s. In 2008, Beemster and Ben & Jerry’s started to collaborate and the program was scaled up to almost all of our 500 dairy farmers.
How :
• Working within the cow to cheese chain of events, such as moving milk from the farms to the dairy with our transporters, to ensure more sustainability.
• Based on eleven total indicators, we focus on Animal Welfare, Landscape, Energy & Climate and Farmer Welfare.
• Each year we organize more than 160 workshops for the participating Beemster-farmers.
• Supported by NGO’s: WWF, Stichting Natuur en Milieu (Dutch organization for Nature and Environment) and Solidaridad (supporting fair and sustainable trade).
Products: : Beemster cheese and Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream are produced with the milk from dairy farmers participating in the Caring Dairy-program. You can recognize the products by the Caring Dairy-logo.
Partners: • Beemster
• Ben & Jerry’s
• 500 dairy farmers
• Wageningen University
• Advisors including:
o World Wildlife Fund
o Stichting Natuur en Milieu
o Solidaridad