Over 100 years of traditional cheese making on our own farm
Since 1915, we've been making cheese from our own milk — with craftsmanship, trust, and cooperation.
Coöperatie De Producent was founded during a time of hardship, in the midst of the First World War. By joining forces, farmers were able to keep selling their cheese, even when export routes were disrupted. More than a century later, that spirit of collaboration remains our strength — not as resistance to trade, but as a way to secure a future for honest, artisanal dairy on the international market.
We are farmers who process the milk from our own cows on our own land into cheese. We do so with respect for tradition and room for innovation. Some of our cheeses are made with raw milk, others with thermised or pasteurised milk — depending on where they’re going and what our customers prefer. But they all have one thing in common: they come from the farm, are made with care, and are shared with pride — from Scandinavia to Spain, and from the United States to Japan. Cheese made on our farms in the Krimpenerwaard and the Green Heart of Holland.
Our cooperative keeps the tradition of making farmhouse cheese alive.
Why you want our cheese
Through our cooperative, you gain access to cheeses made by independent dairy farmers — self-processors who make their own cheese right on the farm. This tradition is under pressure, especially when it comes to raw milk cheeses, but we are doing everything we can to keep it alive and thriving.
What makes our farmer-led cooperative unique is that we bring our cheeses to a shared warehouse, where they are matured and prepared for sale. It’s cheese made on our own farms — but made according to shared agreements. Because for us, the needs of our customers always come first.
We can tailor our production to meet specific demands around flavour, format, size, and — not unimportant — volume. We offer real flexibility: from 600 kilos to 20,000 kilos per week. We mature cheese on request and also maintain our own stock. For wholesalers who want to offer farmhouse cheese with authenticity, but also need reliability and scale — our cooperative is the ideal partner.
Why a cooperative?
Our shared warehouse in Moordrecht — just outside Gouda — is one of the things that connects us. It offers the ideal space and conditions for our cheeses to mature. But that’s not the main reason we choose to work together.
Some of us produce hundreds of cheeses each week; others just a few dozen. At Coöperatie De Producent, we support each other — whether we’re big or small. We share knowledge, step in when someone needs help, and lift each other up when life throws a curveball. Can’t meet your usual production due to personal circumstances? No problem — we’ll find a solution together. Want to scale up and produce more cheese? We’ll help you grow at a natural pace. Need a hand or some advice? We’re here for each other.
By working together, we’re able to achieve things that would be difficult as individual cheesemakers. As a cooperative, we have essential processes — like milk testing, BRC certification, and audits — fully taken care of.
Establishment
We are the Cooperative Cheese Producers' Association for the Export of Full-Fat Gouda Cheese under National Seal. Founded in August 1915 to collectively face the export challenges brought on by the First World War. We were strong and we were united.
Unity is strength — and that’s as true as it gets.
Lean years
After the Second World War, the Netherlands began to prosper. These were rich years for the country — but lean years for the cooperative. In times of economic growth, the relevance of a cooperative can quickly fade into the background. Dutch farmers, already reserved by nature, could increasingly afford to retreat to their own farms.
The tide turns
Until now. Because today’s farmer can no longer compete alone with ever-larger companies selling cheese at comparable or even lower prices. Cheeses that — thanks to slick marketing, both in words and visuals — are often indistinguishable from real farmhouse cheese in the eyes of the average consumer. And when it comes to the growing list of regulations from the EU and the Dutch government aimed at restricting the agricultural sector, the individual farmer stands little chance on their own. A government that represents farmers’ interests might slow this process — but it won’t stop it.
Rolled-up sleeves
“Going to market is the farmer’s main occupation,” wrote Dutch author Nicolaas Beets back in 1839. A farmer is an entrepreneur — and an entrepreneur doesn’t bury their head in the sand. They roll up their sleeves and use their common sense to solve problems. Just as they did after the First World War: by coming together.
Family
A farmer is not just any entrepreneur. A farm is a family business in the truest sense of the word — a place where families live, grow up, and work together. A home where traditions matter, and the craft of cheesemaking is passed down from generation to generation. That’s where the true value of our cheeses lies. And only together can we protect and preserve the traditions, craftsmanship, and recipes of our farmers for the future.
Working together
If you want to preserve the tradition of cheesemaking and pass it on to new generations, you have to work together.
For over 110 years, we’ve been bringing farmers and farmhouse cheesemakers together — and we plan to keep doing so for at least another 110 years.
A tradition of collaboration, matured over time.
Farmers with respect for animals and the land
Anyone who chooses to become a farmer today is someone who values freedom. The freedom to shape your life according to your own rhythm — guided only by the day, the seasons, and the animals. Within our cooperative, we don’t impose rules on each other, but we do encourage one another to use that freedom responsibly.
No one understands better than a farmer that the next generation will live with the consequences of today’s choices. Each of us is deeply aware that we must treat what has been handed down to us with care and respect.
As a cooperative, we have no shortage of stories about entrepreneurship and stewardship. From pasture grazing and circular farming to sustainable energy and biodiversity — you’ll find inspiring examples of all these values on our farms.
