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Het Bolhuis

At Het Bolhuis the production of organic beef and lamb goes hand in hand with extensive grassland management. The connection between nature and agriculture focuses on biodiversity and preserving soil quality. It constitutes the foundation for the business model’s profitability.

Livestock farmer Kurt Sannen advocates for making a farm sufficiently profitable in economic terms so it can be taken over by anyone, not just a family member. Many farms are still too reliant on unpaid family labour, which leads to a fragile and unsustainable financial situation. A farm is, and always will be, a business. The search for how farming and nature can be mutually reinforcing is key to the model adopted by Het Bolhuis. For Kurt Sannen, agroecology and cooperation provide the keys to success.
Kurt collects vegetable waste from a chicory farmer and grass clippings from maintenance work at an orchard. His cattle and sheep graze in the Dassenaarde nature reserve. The nature farm occupies 120 hectares, 100 hectares of which are owned by Natuurpunt and the Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos. Het Bolhuis only breeds old, local cattle and sheep breeds, mainly Kempen cattle and Ardennes Foxheads. They are ideal grazers for managing and conserving natural meadows in harsh conditions. Sannen supplements the dry natural grass with grass-clover and alfalfa he grows himself. The business model is adapted to what the nature area has to offer. This approach enables Sannen to achieve a local feed autonomy. Het Bolhuis fulfils Natuurpunt’s ecological management needs in exchange for using the land. According to Kurt Sannen, who in his capacity as an independent consultant also provides advice to local authorities, farmers and port authorities, there are still insufficient trials in Flanders of this type of ‘multilayered’ landscape – a landscape characterised by the combination of several types of land use . Het Bolhuis demonstrates that nature management, climate adaptation, farming and even recreation can form a single, integral and profitable whole.

partners and actors
Natuurpunt, Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos
theme
circularity, biodiversity, management, food
scale
region, municipality, site
website
bolhuis.be


slideshow
View of the organic farm Het Bolhuis
Nature management, climate adaptation, agriculture and even recreation do not exist side by side on Kurt Sannen's nature farm, but form an integral whole that contributes to the quality of the territory.

Farm Het Bolhuis
articleFarm Het Bolhuis "The nature surrounding the farm forced me to think differently".
By focusing on cooperation and a diverse range of activities, Het Bolhuis strives for an economically healthy and resilient farm that operates in harmony with nature.


Farm Het Bolhuis


photo: Landbouwleven, 2021

The more farmers are relegated to the sidelines, the less nature there will be.
articleThe more farmers are relegated to the sidelines, the less nature there will be.
Kurt Sannen is convinced that it is possible to implement an economic policy that provides farmers with a decent wage for their efforts to reconcile nature and food production, and that at the same time, discourages farmers from destroying that nature further.


The more farmers are relegated to the sidelines, the less nature there will be.


photo: Knack, 2015

Destroying the farmers, is that what we want?
articleDestroying the farmers, is that what we want?
According to Kurt Sannen, we need to abandon the polarising concept that nature and agriculture cannot successfully co-exist. He discusses this matter with organic farmer Guy Depraetere from the ABS Syndicate of Flemish farmers.


Destroying the farmers, is that what we want?


photo: De Standaard, 2019

Case study on climate adaptation Mayor's Covenant
articleCase study on climate adaptation Mayor's Covenant
The Covenant of Mayors presents Het Bolhuis as one of the practical examples in Flanders that incorporates an important climate adaptation component for improving and upgrading agricultural and green spaces.


Case study on climate adaptation Mayor's Covenant


photo: Burgemeesterconvenant

https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1141946137-589db8eb09ab08c6da98c0c87a6f36f74bfee0ca479efb256936d3780676019f-d_640
videoPortraits: #4 Kurt
Livestock farmer Kurt has succeeded in establishing a number of win-win partnerships with nature organisations and fruit growers in the area, based on a vision that farming practices are part of a multilayered landscape.


Portraits: #4 Kurt

Livestock farmer Kurt has succeeded in establishing a number of win-win partnerships with nature organisations and fruit growers in the area, based on a vision that farming practices are part of a multilayered landscape.



photo: Mieke Debruyne, Diest 2020

Kurt Sannen nominated as Best Grassland Farmer
videoKurt Sannen nominated as Best Grassland Farmer
Kurt Sannen adapts his business model according to what the nature area has to offer, instead of viewing the latter as an additional management task. In the winter months, he supplements the beef cattle's dry natural grass, with grass-clover he grows himself.


Kurt Sannen nominated as Best Grassland Farmer

Kurt Sannen adapts his business model according to what the nature area has to offer, instead of viewing the latter as an additional management task. In the winter months, he supplements the beef cattle's dry natural grass, with grass-clover he grows himself.



photo: Veeteeltwebsite, Diest 2019