Tomorrow's Bites with Andrés and Sjacco Jan Dirk: How One Farmer Built a Regenerative Cheese Empire with Jan Dirk van de Voort farmer Remeker
Jan Dirk did something almost unthinkable in Dutch agriculture: he stepped out of the conventional dairy system, reduced his herd, stopped using antibiotics, kept horns on his cows, rebuilt his barn, and committed to raw milk cheese, all while others scaled up.
The result? An award-winning regenerative cheese brand built on soil health, biodiversity, and deep observation, not industrial efficiency.
In this episode, Jan Dirk shares how he:
- Went from doubling his herd to cutting it back
- Lost money for years before finding his path
- Built a circular, low-input system where dung beetles, birds, and mycorrhiza do the work
- Created a premium raw milk cheese brand (Remeker) that competes on taste, not volume
- Reduced external inputs while lowering costs and increasing resilience
We go deep into regenerative dairy, horned cows, raw milk, soil fungi, grazing systems, and why “bigger and more efficient” may be the wrong KPI for the future of farming.
For founders, farmers, and food innovators who believe taste, soil, and long-term thinking matter more than short-term yield, this conversation is a must-listen.
If this episode shifts your perspective, share it with someone in agriculture or food who needs to hear it.
🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW
If you like our podcast please leave us a review on your favourite platform – even one sentence helps! Thank you for your support; it helps the show a lot and it helps others to discover the show!
👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US
Look into the farm Remeker