The Beemster Story
Premium Gourmet Dutch Cheese
Caring Dairy, our sustainability program
Beemster feels responsible for its farmers, its cows and the environment. Caring Dairy helps the Beemster dairy farmers with guidelines and advice by making their farms and the dairy more sustainable.
Caring Dairy is an initiative of ice cream maker
Ben & Jerry's and the Beemster coop, which is the exclusive provider of milk for Ben & Jerry’s European ice cream production.
The program originally started with eleven participating dairy farmers. Now, a few years later, 550 farmers, who on average have 44 cows participate in the program. The farmers are rewarded for their participation with a premium milk price, which is unique in Europe.
An important aspect of Caring Dairy starts in the pasture. The Beemster dairy cows graze freely in our canal-lined pastures from spring through fall. These free ranging cows have enhanced milk quality, as nature provides the freshest grass. Grazing in open pastureland encourages cows to produce milk rich in Omega-7 fatty acids, a naturally-occurring trans fat thought to be good for the heart. Additionally, Caring Dairy’s guidelines call for making sure the cows are outside, grazing in the pasture, for a minimum number of days every year.
In the guidelines for Caring Dairy attention is given to the environment: conservation of energy and other sustainable aspects of farming. The Caring Dairy program also provides the farmers with insight as to how to optimally manage their farms through forums which bring the Beemster farmers together to share ideas.