“A farmer’s task is to grow healthy food, without chemicals”

As a seed company, we have one major mission: to contribute to the transition to 100% organic agriculture. We do this by constantly developing new varieties that solve problems for organic growers. One of those growers is Jan Willem Bakker, who tests several of our pumpkin varieties.

Farming with nature

On the 90 hectares of the biodynamic family business BakkerBio, a wide variety of crops grow: cauliflower, celeriac, seed potatoes, onions, grain, and pumpkin. As a break crop—the crop grown between main harvests—there is grass with herbs that serves as feed during the autumn and winter months for the farm’s cows. In the spring and summer, the animals roam freely in the Lauwersmeer National Park. The vegetables, in turn, benefit from the cow manure produced while the animals are indoors. “A beautiful way to farm in harmony with nature,” says Jan Willem Bakker.

Testing new varieties

Jan Willem has been working with De Bolster for several years. In his pumpkin fields, he grows varieties such as ‘Uchiki Kuri’, a large and popular pumpkin among growers. He reserves sections of his land to conduct trials with newly developed varieties. One of those varieties is ‘BOL-P-5106’, which Jan Willem is very enthusiastic about.

“This variety has a longer shelf life than most other varieties, which is important for us as growers. In the winter, rot often develops in pumpkins, which we then have to discard. A longer shelf life is therefore very welcome. The results of the trials were good, so this variety will definitely return next season.”

Shared ideals

For De Bolster, testing new varieties in different locations and receiving feedback from growers like Jan Willem is essential. What works for a grower in the south of the country might turn out quite differently in Groningen, where BakkerBio is located. Twice a year, someone visits to inspect Jan Willem’s trial fields and hear about his experiences. And once more during the winter storage season.

“I don’t want the people who eat my food to ingest all kinds of chemicals, even if they fall within ‘safe’ limits.”

Jan Willem is pleased with the collaboration with De Bolster. “The lines of communication are short, and we share the same ideals. Conventional—or chemical farming, as I call it—is, in my eyes, a finite story. As humans, we don’t manage this earth very well. In my vision, our soil is the inheritance from the generation before us, and you pass it on to the generation after you. What are we putting future generations through with the conventional way of farming? What kind of chemical legacy are they inheriting in the soil? The job of a farmer is to produce healthy food. With the amount of chemicals currently in crops, you can ask yourself if that’s still the case. I don’t want the people who eat my food to ingest all kinds of chemicals, even if they fall within ‘safe’ limits.”

No tinkering with crops

Jan Willem continues: “And all that tinkering with crops, such as with CRISPR-Cas (see the interview with Frans, ed.), I have nothing good to say about that. You don’t know which traits you are ‘cutting out’. To me, it feels like cutting and pasting and a competition for who has the prettiest craft project. And the big chemical companies will always win. But chemicals don’t belong in food.

The main mission of those types of companies isn’t to produce healthy food, but to keep their shareholders happy. We shouldn’t want that. My hope for the future is that a major leap is made toward organically grown food, without chemicals. And for that, we need seed companies and growers, but also the consumer who buys more organic food. Together, we can reform agriculture.”