“Born into cheesemaking.”
In the Flevopolder, in Biddinghuizen, the Van Blokland family started all over again in 2000, after no longer being able to farm on the land where their family had been established for generations. Piet and Joke van Blokland took on the challenge, moving their family and their herd to the new province of Flevoland, with its young sea clay soils. There, they rebuilt their farm from the ground up — and expanded it further.
Innovation has never frightened this family. Even here, they dared to do things differently from their neighbours, embracing new techniques and making smart adaptations. They understand better than most that being a farmer means being an entrepreneur — one who needs to be flexible. Today, the Van Blokland partnership includes son Edwin, and together with Piet and Joke, he helps run the farm in the youngest polder of the Netherlands.
the cooperative
The Van Blokland family has been making cheese for four generations. As was common on many dairy farms at the time, they originally only made cheese in the summer — when the cows were out to pasture and the empty barn could be used to place the cheesemaking tub.
In 1979, Joke and Piet took over cheesemaking duties from Piet’s father. At first, they sold their cheeses at traditional cheese markets. But when Piet realised that trading wasn’t quite his calling, the family joined Coöperatie De Producent around 1989. Even after their move to Flevoland, they remained members — and to this day, Piet still drives to Gouda every Thursday to deliver their cheeses to the cooperative’s warehouse.
A new beginning
The Van Blokland family originally farmed in De Meern, near Utrecht. But when residential development made it impossible to continue farming there, they made the bold decision to move to the Flevopolder in 2000. At the time, their newly purchased land held only a house and a shed — so they built barns for their cows and pigs, along with a modern cheesemaking facility, which was quite unique in this region dominated by arable farms.
With more land and fertile soil, transitioning from farming on peat to farming on young sea clay turned out to be a rewarding challenge. Today, the farm has grown to one hundred sixty dairy cows, and the family has transitioned from keeping free-range pigs to organic pig farming.
Their son Edwin has now joined the business, forming the Van Blokland partnership together with his parents.
innovation
Piet’s father was already ahead of his time in 1967, being one of the first to install a day cheese system — a significant innovation back then. Piet, who according to his son Edwin was “born in the cheese vat,” has carried that pioneering spirit forward. In 2004, he was one of the first to install a draining vat in their already modern cheesemaking facility.
This nearly fully automated system takes over the physically demanding parts of the cheesemaking process. It presses the curd and pushes it toward the cutting blades, making it easier to portion and place into the cheese moulds. In this vat — capable of turning 5,000 litres of milk into cheese in a single batch — the family crafts their cheeses with great passion and precision.
Their quality hasn’t gone unnoticed: in 2012, their cheese was crowned the best in the Netherlands at the national Cum Laude Cheese Awards. And at regional cheese competitions, the family continues to take home prizes on a regular basis.
While they once focused primarily on 30 kg wheels, their range has evolved — and today, Tartufo is one of the standout specialties from their cheesemaking room.
future
At the moment, the family feels a sense of uncertainty about the future. While they have plenty of plans and ideas, they’re currently waiting to see how government decisions and policies unfold.
Whatever the future may bring, one thing is certain: they will do everything in their power to keep farming — and to continue making their award-winning cheeses.
