8 dairy farms near Rotterdam we visited ourselves
For Farms Around, we visit many farms and local selling points. Around Rotterdam, we also headed out ourselves to visit several dairy farms.
In this article, we share 8 dairy farms we visited ourselves. It is a selection: we visited more of them across the Rotterdam region. From a floating farm in the middle of Rotterdam to dairy farms in Midden-Delfland and the surrounding polders. We tasted raw milk, kefir, yoghurt, butter and farmhouse cheese, and talked to farmers about their farm, animals and products.
Below, you can read what stood out to us during these visits and what we discovered at the farms.
Discover more farms and local selling points? Explore the Farms Around map and search by product, type of selling point or farming method.
Please note: opening hours vary by location and can change. Check the current opening hours on the Farms Around map or via local food in and around Rotterdam.
8 dairy farms we visited ourselves
1. De Floating Farm
📍Address: Gustoweg 10, Rotterdam, South Holland.
Cows on the water … Yes, this really exists! In 2019, a floating farm was built in Rotterdam, the first in the world.
The Floating Farm is a modern, sustainable farm with three levels. The lowest level is below the water and is used for cheese maturation and vertical farming. The middle level is the processing floor, where the cows’ feed is stored and the dairy products and cheese are made. The top level is for the cows, but a small bridge also gives them access to the outdoors.
It is a very unusual farm where circularity is central. As well as supplying fresh dairy products to the city with minimal transport, the farm tries to use as many residual streams from the city as possible for feed. The animals eat, among other things, spent grain from Rotterdam breweries, bran from mills in Schiedam, grass from sports fields and bread from a local baker.
The urban farm is largely self-sufficient. They collect rainwater and use floating solar panels for energy.
In the farm shop, you can buy all the Floating Farm products. They have milk and several types of yoghurt: strained yoghurt, set yoghurt and stirred yoghurt in flavours such as cinnamon, apple and raisin. There is also milk and buttermilk with ginger (our choice), and a raspberry variety that tastes a little like a light drinking yoghurt.
The shop also sells raw milk (bring your own bottle), butter, eggs and many different products from other local producers.
And of course, they have several cheeses, plain or with herbs, plus Farmigiano, made especially for pasta.
2. Hoeve Rust-Hoff
📍Address: Broekpolderweg 3, Maasland, South Holland.
If you are looking for dairy products made with real attention to sustainability, this is the place to be!
Hoeve Rust-Hoff is the organic farm of Jeroen and Gusta van der Kooij. They give nature space and work with the philosophy of ‘taking good care of what has been entrusted to us’. They keep Blaarkop cattle, an old Dutch breed. The cows have plenty of space and mainly eat what the land provides.
This is not the easiest approach for farmers. The cows need more land for grazing, while a natural grass-based diet means they produce less milk.
All this care and love for the animals and the land results in beautiful organic products. Dairy and meat made with care for nature, with attention to biodiversity in the polder.
Did you know that every spring they work with polder specialists to decide where the cows can and cannot graze? This gives meadow birds plenty of space too. And of course, they do not mow where birds are nesting. Wow, we love this!
In their small farm shop, you can buy fresh milk (pasteurised and raw), buttermilk, custard, yoghurt and cream. And … fantastic kefir: wonderfully thick, with a fresh, full flavour!
The dairy products are sold under the DWARSS label. You can also buy cheese, ice cream made from their own milk and meat here, as well as chicken from a farmer they know.
3. Landlust organic farm
📍Address: Oostgaag 25a, Maasland, South Holland.
Jersey cows are our favourite! They are incredibly cute, have a bit of temperament and give wonderfully rich, creamy milk. You can really see how rich the raw milk is when a thick layer of cream forms at the top of the bottle after it has been standing for a while.
One of the places with Jersey cows in South Holland is the organic Landlust farm in Maasland. Farmer Roel and his wife Femke care for their cows according to organic principles. Their approach is not only focused on the cows, but also on biodiversity across the land.
Every half day, the cows get a new patch of land to graze. This gives the grass and the herbs growing among it time to recover and grow.
After the cows come the chickens, which spread herb seeds and help clean up the grassland. This approach creates a lot of biodiversity on Roel’s land. Many different herbs grow among the grass, flowering plants attract lots of insects, and the ditches are clean and clear too!
Herb-rich grassland and a high water level also help attract more meadow birds, such as black-tailed godwits and skylarks. These birds have a good life here.
In the Landlust farm shop, you will find a raw milk tap (bring empty bottles), cheese made from Jersey milk, eggs from hens that range on the grass (see the gallery to spot where the chickens roam) and meat. There are also products from other farms, including yoghurt and many kinds of kefir, such as goat’s milk kefir, as well as vegetables.
I really enjoy coming here with my children. It is a lovely place for children to play, with lots of outdoor toys. Such a welcoming farm!
4. Kaas & zuivelboerderij van Winden
📍Address: Gaagweg 36, Schipluiden.
In the heart of the Randstad, between The Hague, Rotterdam and Delft, you will find Van Winden cheese and dairy farm. It is run by John and Nelly van Winden together with their daughter. They have been making dairy products and cheese since 2000.
They have around 60 cows. In winter, the cows stay in a large free-stall barn where they can move around freely. From April until early November, the cows graze outside in the beautiful Midden-Delfland countryside.
Here, they make traditional dairy products with great care and passion, including farmhouse cheese, milk, buttermilk, yoghurt, butter and quark. Cheese is one of the farm’s most important products. They make Gouda farmhouse cheese under the name ‘Gaeghlander’, their own raw-milk farmhouse cheese produced in Midden-Delfland.
The different dairy products are made on the farm using traditional methods. Their buttermilk, for example, is churned according to grandmother’s recipe, although they now use more modern machinery. Alongside the buttermilk, they also make rich farm butter.
For anyone with a sweet tooth, they also make fresh dairy treats such as fruit quark and vanilla farm custard.
Coming for raw milk? Bring empty bottles!
The shop also sells regional products such as beef, vegetables, fruit, jam and much more.
5. Hoeve Bouwlust
📍Address: Oostgaag 31, Maasland.
Hoeve Bouwlust is an atmospheric farm with a farm shop in Maasland. It is a lovely place to stock up on local treats and enjoy the flavours of Midden-Delfland. The farm has special dairy cows that produce A2 milk. This milk is suitable for people with a casein intolerance. You can tap the milk yourself at the milk tap on the farm.
Hoeve Bouwlust is a fantastic place to visit with children! There are two playgrounds with a slide and swings. Children, and of course their parents too, can feed the cows, stroke the calves and enjoy the farm surroundings. Around 30 sheep spend almost the entire year in the fields. Alongside the cows and sheep, there are chickens, rabbits and other animals. What a fun farm outing for children! From 1 April to 31 October, the terrace is open and you can enjoy scooped farm ice cream. Visiting in winter? Single-serving tubs of ice cream are available in the local farm shop.
In the local farm shop at Hoeve Bouwlust, you will find a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, locally made dairy products, cheese and many other traditional products.
6. Hoeve Biesland
Address: Bieslandseweg 1, 2645 Delfgauw.
Hoeve Biesland is an organic farm between The Hague and Rotterdam, close to the beautiful city of Delft. This special place is a family farm where sustainability and care for nature are central. The farm is proud of its work on nature management and biodiversity, working with the surrounding area to maintain a healthy balance between farming and nature.
The cows at Hoeve Biesland have a wonderful life here. In summer, they roam freely and graze as much as possible in the surrounding polders, enjoying lush grass, clover and herbs. This supports their health and also plays an important role in the biodiversity of the land. The herb-rich grassland attracts all kinds of birds, turning the fields around Hoeve Biesland into a real bird haven. In winter, the cows stay in a spacious, comfortable barn, where they are well cared for and fed.
The Hoeve Biesland farm shop offers a wide range of products straight from the farm. You can tap raw milk here, for example. Prefer pasteurised milk? That is available in the shop too. But the farm shop offers much more than milk. You will also find vegetables from their own kitchen garden and from other organic farmers in the area.
The farm shop also offers homemade cheese and dairy products, as well as meat from their own animals. The eggs come from their own hens, which roam freely in the fields. You can also buy freshly baked bread from their own bakery.
It is a wonderful place to introduce children to farm life while enjoying the peace and beauty of the countryside.
7. Hoeve Ackerdijk
📍Address: Rotterdamseweg 223, Schipluiden, South Holland.
What a beautiful sustainable farm, located between Rotterdam and Delft! Hoeve Ackerdijk’s approach is simple: connect city and countryside by following organic principles and respecting nature.
They make an extra effort to bring meadow birds back to the polder. How? Among other things, by mowing with great care around nests and temporarily flooding a grass field in spring. Meadow birds love this wet ground. Their meadows are full of different grasses, herbs and flowers. Good for the meadow birds, and the cows enjoy it too. And you can taste it in the raw-milk cheese!
They have been making cheese since 2020 and continue to develop their cheesemaking. They now produce around 50 kilos of cheese each week. That is not much, but we found the cheese wonderfully traditional, with a delicious rich flavour!
They make several types of cheese, including varieties with herbs. You will also find organic eggs from their own hens and other local products, such as honey from the Ackerdijkse Plassen.
Card and cash.
8. De Kaasboerderij Speksnijder
📍Address: Tiendweg West 28b, Lekkerkerk, South Holland.
De Kaasboerderij Speksnijder is a very welcoming and modern farm. It is run by two young farmers, Jan Herm Bokdam and Jan Speksnijder. They take a modern approach to their work while also keeping more than 100 years of cheesemaking tradition from the Speksnijder family alive.
The cheese farm specialises in Gouda cheese, from young to mature. All these cheeses, including herb cheeses, are available in the farm shop in Lekkerkerk. And only there, because they do not sell their cheeses anywhere else in the Netherlands. Worth a trip to Lekkerkerk, don’t you think? 🙂
In the farm shop, you will also find many more traditional products from different farms across the Netherlands and … a milk tap with Speksnijder farm milk, so do not forget to bring an empty bottle!
These were 8 dairy farms in the Rotterdam region that we visited ourselves. Every farm has its own story, different animals and different products. That is exactly what makes buying directly from farmers and local makers so enjoyable for us.
Want to discover more places yourself? Explore local food in and around Rotterdam or continue searching on the Farms Around map.
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