Kaes-Haff - Jean-Marie Kaes

The farmer Jean-Marie Kaes was interested in anthroposophy very early and consequently he switched to biodynamic farming. He produces to Demeter standards out of conviction, with the aim of finding the ideal size for the farm without growing massively. At the moment it amounts to 62 ha, of which 36 ha are grassland and 26 ha are arable land. It is important for him to maintain the diversity on the farm and not to specialise as a farmer. The family radiates confidence and satisfaction.

As the welfare of its animals is extremely important to the Demeter peasant, the farm was relocated and transformed in 2013. A generously proportioned and partially open barn, specially designed to meet the needs of horn-carrying cows, and a modern hay-drying facility, which allows the clover grass and herbs to be dried gently, creates optimal conditions for the dairy cows living on the farm. The Rotbund breeding of currently 26 dairy cows with offspring is milked in a tandem milking parlour without concentrated feed. This technique is pleasant and stress-free for humans and animals. In 2014/2015 the farm even ranked 5th out of 30 farms by lifetime performance. This means that their dairy cows live long and give enough milk. The special feature about the cattle: Every cow on the organic farm has its own name.

Although the Demeter farm is dominated by dairy farming, Jean-Marie Kaes continues to focus on diversity, both in terms of farm animals and the annually grown crops. In addition to the cows, there is a herd of 13 black Bleskopf sheep, 5 fattening pigs, 10 rabbits, dogs and cats on the Kaes-Haff. Last but not least are the bees, which are kept according to Demeter standards and can follow their natural way of building.

A wide variety of vegetables are grown in the vegetable field, including potatoes, cabbage and carrots. Only the farm's own manure is used as fertiliser, pesticides are out of the question.

The Kaes-Haff offers many of its farm products in its own small farm shop. These include seasonal vegetables and meat, home-made jams, elderflower syrup or salami and meat pies. The products can be ordered for collection via the farm's homepage. On this site you can find further explanations and special features of the farm, so it is worth a visit.

Jean-Marie is a member of the BIOG cooperative and a shareholder of the BIOG dairy, which collects, processes and markets its milk.