Beef Brand That Raditats Their Food

Information technology is impossible to bulldoze past the Hemels Vlees location: the wooden business firm where Zef and partner Ingrid Vreke alive and the open up stable are real centre-catchers forth the fields of Ransdaal. It suits the owner: Zef Soogelee is someone who likes to exercise things differently. Nature and landscape are important values in the product and sale of his Christmas trees and beef. And the pleasure radiates when he talks about it.

Information technology started with his parents' onetime farm, converted into adaptation for groups. But Soogelee's heart is non in tourism and recreation. "Tourism is very fleeting, people are in that location for a while, consume all kinds of things and away they go again. Nowadays you see many farmers expanding their business, just I wanted to return to agronomics. You lot can brand a great living with a small business, as long as you starting time marketing your ain cease product. It takes years to become to a finished product, only if you lot add 3 weeks to sell it yourself, you have a much better margin." Soogelee has near 70 cows and about 70,000 Christmas copse. Concluding yr he managed to sell the meat of nigh 20 cows and nigh 5,000 Christmas trees were sold. It gives him a turnover of € fifteen,000 per hectare, a dream for many farmers.

Nature-inclusive farming, according to the customer's wishes

Soogelee loves nature and the landscape and focuses on consumers who think that is important as well. Because fair is fair: the consumer decides. "I discovered that more and more consumers have an middle for nature-inclusive farming and animal welfare. They want the cows to walk outside as much as possible and not to eat soy. That's why I built an open barn where the cows tin can bridge the height difference betwixt thousand and pasture via a staircase. The cows get beer malt from the Brand brewery, corn and barley from farmers in the village and rapeseed meal instead of soy. I want to keep the chain very uncomplicated and orderly." Soogelee also goes for the witting consumer when growing his Christmas trees. "I put in sheep that eat the weeds around the trees instead of having to spray. That'south how I'm going more and more in the ecological direction."

"With a minor business organization yous can make a keen living"

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Minor business organization is freedom

Soogelee consciously chooses the freedom of modest-scale farming and business. "Not laws and regulations are the framework, the customer is the framework! The whole nitrogen word does non interest me, because I work with small numbers. I therefore take the flexibility to adapt rapidly to changing consumer needs. A farmer with 300 cows who is still paying off his barn for years does not have that luxury. But of form I don't only await at the consumer, but also at what suits me. For example, I definitely don't want a farm store. I want to be free to go where and when I want. People can call one-half an hour in advance if they want to pick upwards the meat. Usually they can but practice that."

Learning from customers and colleagues

Soogelee sells his meat packages of 5, x and 20 kilos not only in the region, but as well delivers half dozen weekends a yr in the Randstad. The contact with people is something that makes Soogelee very happy. "When I have driven effectually for a weekend to evangelize our meat packages to people, I am a happy person. The conversations and the appreciation, that's what gives me free energy. And I already enjoyed marketing when I was still studying at the HAS. Edifice a network, getting publicity, finding the right channels: you are constantly learning and you run into your turnover grow! But marketing is also difficult and expensive. I recommend anybody to bring together an entrepreneurial club where you can learn from others. For example, I take learned a lot from other Christmas tree growers effectually the country and take been able to double my sales with them. I as well relish passing on that cognition to others and sparring with colleagues. I recently advised a carmine farmer in the neighbourhood to place a few large signs along access roads. Nosotros go a lot of customers with it and it's a relatively cheap means." Hemels Vlees continues to exist marketed primarily online through its website, with newsletters to regular customers and Google ads. "The online marketing I outsource, that's really a merchandise. I learned that also: yous shouldn't want to practise everything yourself."

"I doubled my turnover by learning from other entrepreneurs"

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Unmissable

Soogelee dares to claim that his farm makes an indispensable contribution to the flora, fauna and mural. "If you can operate on a small scale, more biodiversity is created. The animals run outside and develop into strong, healthy animals. This way of working also creates more than interaction between farmer and consumer. We are never finished and continue to develop. Nosotros are now going to constitute more trees that fit into the original landscape. Yous don't need a subsidy for that if you meet information technology equally office of your business. I see it as an investment that you finance with the auction of your products. I remember you should try to do things right and beautiful. People too often recollect that this house and stable are enormously expensive. But it's non expensive at all. We have done a lot ourselves and at present even alive and work free energy-neutral. The other stable is nonetheless fabricated of iron, just we're going to supercede that with a wooden version also, to lucifer the rest."

The home of Zef Soogelee and partner Ingrid Vreke

Mindset

Also Soogelee sometimes wonders how to go on with his business. "You know, it's all in your head. When Hornbach started with Christmas trees, my showtime thought was: I can pack, and then in that location's no market for me anymore. But then I realized: Hornbach asks € 40 for a Christmas tree, and then that'south my starting cost, because I offer more than species that are grown in a more nature-friendly way. And again we make people so happy! Choosing the tree, waffles and mulled wine with it, that makes it something unique. The same goes for the beef. You might retrieve: there are more and more vegetarians, is at that place yet a market for my meat? But Hemels Vlees is non just any meat, it is quality meat from animals that are well cared for and have had plenty of infinite and practise. People are happy to drive a detour for that. If you alter your mindset, y'all can achieve so much more. Then I'm likewise not afraid of anyone copying what I do. You learn from each other, but you still do what suits you and your business organisation. On the contrary, I think that we equally farmers in South Limburg should piece of work together and can cord a chain of South Limburg pearls. If we bring each other to the attention, we will all benefit."

"I'1000 not agape of anyone copying what I practice."

Marry product search

In the concurrently, Soogelee has passed sixty and is slowly looking forward to a successor. "I take about iv,000 customers for the Christmas trees and nigh ane,500 buyers for my meat. And so whoever takes over volition get a flying outset. In the meantime, we proceed to develop; I all the same have all kinds of ideas. The new wooden shed volition be connected to the other one. Christmas trees can be sold on the pointed roof, so information technology volition temporarily become a real Christmas befouled. I can totally come across it! Soogelee encourages young farmers who have doubts about the future of agronomics. "I would do it again in a infinitesimal. The variation, the freedom, being outside in nature, the happy customers, playing with your business concern: it'southward the best thing there is. As long equally yous stay away from low-margin products, where the customer determines what you get. That takes all the air and flexibility away from the farmer. Instruction should also pay more attention to this: instead of making students cost-conscious, they should make them yield-conscious. I advise farmers to await for a high-margin product that makes them happy. Actually: there is nevertheless and so much to find and marvel at!"

The 7 entrepreneurial tips of Zef Soogelee

1. Go for direct sales to consumers and invest in your own marketing and sales, then you can generate much better margins.
2. Nature and landscape are not price items, only are of import added value to your product. And then invest in them yourself and dare to ask an advisable toll.
3. Think carefully near what type of consumer and what fashion of working suits you and blueprint your business accordingly.
4. Spend time on learning from other entrepreneurs, you lot volition always earn back double.
5. Call in specialists where necessary, you lot don't have to be able to do everything yourself.
6. Change your mindset: don't be afraid of competition, merely await at what you can learn from information technology so put your own spin on it.
7. Choose a margin product, that fashion you retain your independence and liberty.

For more information or to contact Zef Soogelee: www.hemelsvlees.nl

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Source: https://shiftlimburg.nl/en/cases/sof-soogelee-proves-nature-friendly-farming-is-also-smart-farming

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