Our story
Raising Pigs Responsibly Since 1945
How it all started...
Grandparents Margriet and Jozef came from a long tradition of farming families. In 1945, they founded their farm milking cows and raising pigs. When at a certain point the Belgian market demanded more pork, Margriet decided that the new cow stable that was under construction had to be remodelled into a larger pig stable. So the story continues leaving the cows behind.​
From a young age, their kids plunged into farm life. The three brothers Bart, Peter and Gert developed unique personalities, and each have specialties that complement the others. Leadership, analytical insight and a strong work ethic is the foundation on which the third generation continues to develop the business.​The women in the family are essential to its success. Kristine, Bart's wife, and Gert's wife Ilse manage the office alongside product developer and sales manager Bart van Tricht.
​
Jef, Anton and Paul are just as passionate as the former generations, if not even more. They dedicate their lives to the farm and have already proven to be a valuable asset.
From a young age, Jef has been developing ideas to innovate on technology and expansion. Anton has a strong insight in keeping livestock and Paul is currently still studying agriculture while simultaneously working on all departments of the business.
Gert and Ilse's two children, Simon and Aurélie, are happily enjoying their childhood years on the farm.
Get to Know
Norbel
“What I love most about my job is the wide variety of things that I get to do and learn. My main task is to take care of the piglets in the farrowing stable, but I also often help my colleagues at the sow farm"
​- Kimberly
Our employees
“Our farm’s success is the result of considerate breeding programs, a high standard of animal care and most of all, the dedication of our employees”.
Our team members are regarded as critical partners in the farm’s continued success. Therefore, we work hard to create a discrimination-free environment that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive. ​
To guarantee that the animals are well cared for and that the equipment and facilities are well maintained, the farm provides career opportunities for both local and foreign talent.
The family partners with the best growers in Belgium to raise and care for their pigs. At the moment, there are over 40 production partnerships, all devoted to rearing pigs in a safe and compassionate environment with constant high-quality care.
_JPG.jpg)
“Since our founding, we have been passionate about raising healthy pigs to make quality pork for our partners and customers”
Our animals
Providing a high standard of animal care is a never-ending process based on reliable science, veterinary specialists, and agricultural know-how. Since every member of the family works either in the office or the stables, the business takes advantage of continuous feedback on its operational processes and is quick to adapt to changes in the stable as well as in the market.
Happy, healthy animals offer the best results. That is why the family works closely together with veterinarians in order to ensure a high quality of life from birth to market. One of the key spearheads is to reduce antibiotic use in the stable. The pigs are kept healthy through strict biosecurity and hygienic measures, as opposed to antibiotic group treatments for disease prevention. Veterinarians closely monitor the animals and continuously develop stable-specific vaccination programs in order to ensure a high standard of health status of the livestock. Antibiotics are only administered to animals when they are sick. The team members all value the careful handling of the pigs and take pride in their work.
In order to ensure the production of healthy and strong piglets, the family has developed a strong breeding program with their own facility with various races of purebred sows. These purebreds are carefully crossed to develop unique dam lines with the necessary mothering characteristics to grow the robust piglets that they produce.
​
Offering the highest level of comfort in all phases of the life cycle includes pleasant transportation of the pigs. Temperature sensors, automatic climate control, fans, GPS, and a permanent freshwater supply are all installed on our partners' vehicles to make sure that the pigs are comfortable during transportation.
​
“As farmers, we value what nature offers us, that is why we work hard to maintain and preserve natural resources for future generations.”.
Our planet
The family, together with its partners and team members, is always looking for and implementing new ways to lower the impact on the environment. They were among the first to put biological air washers in the stables to remove ammonia, odour and fine dust from the outgoing stable air.
Water shortage is becoming a serious problem. That is why the water consumption of the farms is lowered by harvesting rainwater for cleaning purposes and to supply the air washers.
Solar panels are installed on all our facilities and produce up to 90% of the power required to run the stables and office.
Pig farming is a model of circular agriculture: crops feed the animals, and the animals feed the crops. A scarcity of organic fertilisers exists in the region where the stables are located. Local farmers use our pigs' manure to fertilise their farms, which reduces the need for commercial fertilisers. In keeping with the principles of sustainable agriculture, we utilise as many ingredients as we can for the pig's diet that aren't suitable for human consumption.