Kees also owns a herd of beef cows called Duke of Angus®. They live in full freedom, outside year-round, one with nature. They are proof that agriculture and nature can go hand in hand. The cattle play an important role in management; they are basically CO2 neutral lawn mowers. Their presence causes an increase in biodiversity because the cattle choose where, what and how to graze. The animals have all the space they need to walk, graze and live as they please, guaranteeing animal-welfare. The calves stay with their mothers after birth for at least six months. All the animals live of the grass. In winter, they are fed with organic silage, but aren't fed any grain. They eat natural food, and their manure again fulfills a natural function: a closed cycle.

 

The Aberdeen Angus, originally a Scottish breed, can flourish in our dry, barren nature reserves like to other. Kees keeps both Red Angus and Black Angus. A large herd is grazing at the 200 hectares large Banisveld in Boxtel. Through this Banisveld (field), the Kampina nature reserve, owned by nature-reserve organization Natuurmonumenten, is connected to the nature in the Mortelen, owned by nature-reserve organization Brabants Landschap. The cattle also live year-round beneath the television tower on nature reserve ’Grotelse heide’ in Bakel.

 

Kees' beef farm is organically certified. Kees breeds Angus cattle for other farmers, like Boerderie Bewust. They, in turn, offer the local market a tasty and honest piece of natural beef. The marbling in the beef makes it wonderfully tender.