photos: Arnaud Mooij and d.o.b foundation

Use of Land at De Nijensteen

The grounds at De Nijensteen cover a surface of about 46 Ha and are used for several different purposes; planting and harvesting, breeding and laying, flowing and grazing and some parts will even be given back to nature.

Fruit farming: pears and apples

Three sorts of pears grow in the 5,4 Ha orchard: Triomphe de Vienne, Doyenné du Comice and Conference. These trees are over 55 years old, quite a respectable age for a half-standard tree.

In 2008 the new apple orchard was created, sized about 6 Ha, where we grow the apples for GoedSap® (site in Dutch).

Cattle breeding

Between the watercourses that flow through the fields is 15 Ha of grass land. This is more than enough for the fire red cows (a very special and almost extinct race of cows in this area).

Agriculture

About 6,5 Ha is used as farmland, specifically for straw supply in the cow shed (barley).

Nature and Landscape management

The badger's burrow, the wooded banks and the shadow shrub in the meadows mutually take up 4,5 Ha. 5,5 Ha and has been organized as a water retention area in cooperation with the local water board Veluwe. It includes several newly dug ditches and pools, a pond where fish can spawn and several dug up river banks. 2 Ha of pastures can be flooded incidentally, but are still part of everyday operational management. All of this brings along a great diversity of plant and animal wildlife.

Forestry

Over 8 Ha of woodland has been organized as SN 2000 area (Subsidy rule Nature conservation 2000, for the conservation and development of area of natural beauty). A permanent dry clay forest was constructed. In the future these grounds will therefore have a natural destination instead of a agricultural one.
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