De Walhoeve farm shop in Goirle, Netherlands, has experienced a surge in customers after being named the best farm shop in the country. Owner Corné van Roessel notes a 10 to 20 percent increase in visitors, bringing the shop close to its goal of serving a thousand customers per week.

The store offers a wide array of local products, including meat from Van Roessel’s own bulls, cheese, vegetables, fruit, pasta, bread, salads, jam, beer, and wine. Customers praise the high-quality meat and the welcoming atmosphere of the store. Elly de Brouwer, a regular customer, highlights the superior taste of the meat compared to supermarket offerings and the personalized service she receives.

Van Roessel acknowledges that while other farm shops may have better organization, De Walhoeve focuses on seizing opportunities. The shop gained recognition without promotion, and the staff has since become active with QR codes and social media. The award coincides with the store’s 30th anniversary. The business evolved from a beef cattle farm started by Van Roessel’s parents in 1974. In 1995, his mother began selling meat directly from the farm to combat falling meat prices caused by milk quotas.

Van Roessel emphasizes the importance of controlling prices through direct sales, unlike traditional farming where prices are often dictated by external factors. He positions his prices between supermarket and butcher levels, offering butcher-quality products at a reasonable price due to the short supply chain.

The farm previously kept dairy goats until Q fever in 2010. The remaining 140 cows are now housed in a modern stable and fed primarily from the farm’s own land. The expansion of residential areas has led to both a reduction in land and an increase in potential customers, prompting Van Roessel to expand the product range to include other local producers’ goods. De Walhoeve attracts customers from a wide area, including Belgium.

De Walhoeve aims to educate the public about farming through tours for schools and excursions to the stable. While these activities have been temporarily reduced due to recent crowding, Van Roessel hopes to dedicate more time to the farming aspect of the business in the future. The farm shop, founded in 1995, employs over twenty people and has a turnover of 1.2 million euros.