Tom Goedert

Charel Goedert is one of the pioneers of organic agriculture in Luxembourg. He runs his farm organically together with his family since 1998. They are very engaged in the fight against GMO’s, which make their way from the feeding through to our diner plates. A healthy soil is the most valuable resource in organic agriculture. Charel gained his thorough knowledge from his pleasure to experiment with the right crop rotation, methods of tillage and types of manures, and the observations he made from the experiments.

Regarding the crop rotation, the agriculturist pays close attention that it leads to a profound rooting depth, aeration in the soil and an improved water storage capacity, as well as that it promotes the formation of humus and storage of nutrients. Thus, the soil is perfectly prepared for the subsequent crop. Besides that, Charel is devoted to work as little as possible in his acres. Hence, he avoids the usage of heavy machines, ploughs his fields before the sowing of the cereal seeds and fertilises organic manure produced by his own cattle. The relatively high amount of green fodder is fed to the animals.

The farm is specialised in sow- and fattening pig breeding and keeps beef cattle. In the future, the family wants to reduce its animal husbandry to focus more on its special production: the cultivation and production of three high-quality oils made from camelina, mustard and milk thistle: T’Charly’s Oil, made by son Tom. In 2009, the camelina oil even won the Bio-Agrar price in the category for innovation in organic agriculture. Every culinary oil is virgin and unique thanks to a gentle production process, their relatively high percentage of unsaturated fatty acid, their purity and their extraordinary taste. The products are available at the farm, in all the NATUARTA stores, as well as in selected food delis.

The farm combines all elements of the exploitation – such as species-appropriate husbandry, optimal crop rotation and production of the culinary virgin oils – in a way that ensures the formation of a natural cycle and enables a sustainable agricultural production. For instance, the leftovers from the press are recycled as oil cake to feed the animals. As a result, the farm produces high-quality organic products and thus closes the natural cycle again.

Tom Goedert is a member of the BIOG.