The Henri Willig farm

Our Mission

The Henri Willig Group, as cheese maker, brings honest and distinctive quality products to the consumer and is a professional, sustainable partner for its customers, employees and suppliers, with respect for people, animals and nature.

Discover the secret behind our great cheese:

"Happy Cows = Good Milk = Delicious Cheese"!

Henri Willig farm and cheese dairy in Katwoude surrounded by green meadows

Our history

Henri Willig, founder of Henri Willig Cheese, grew up among the cows on the dairy farm De Jacobs Hoeve. As the only son in a family with five children, he became involved in the family business at an early age. After completing lower agricultural school, Henri took over the farm in 1974.

Together with his wife Riet, the idea soon arose to start making cheese themselves. The enterprising couple took a cheesemaking course and discovered the most important secret of good cheese: high-quality milk begins with happy and healthy animals.

Henri Willig Organic Dairy Farm

Our organic dairy farm is located on the fertile agricultural lands of North Holland. The meadows surrounding the farm are rich in a wide variety of flora and fauna. Plants such as white clover, yarrow, goose grass, and dandelions grow abundantly here and provide natural and healthy nutrition for our cows.

To protect nature, we do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides on our fields. As a result, the land remains healthy and our farm is often seen as a source of inspiration for other agricultural partners.

Our cows spend at least 180 days per year outside in the pasture, with a minimum of 12 hours a day in the fresh open air. This allows them to display their natural behavior and live as comfortably as possible. Happy and healthy cows ultimately produce milk of the highest quality — the foundation of our delicious Henri Willig cheeses.

Person walking through green grass with wildflowers

On the farm, in our brand-new barn, you can meet our Jersey cows. Although we also use milk from other cow breeds to make cheese, milk from Jersey cows is particularly suitable for delicious cheese because of its higher fat and protein content.

This breed also performs well in terms of sustainability. Jersey cows produce relatively large amounts of milk with less feed and at the same time generate significantly less manure.

Visit our farm

Jersey cows at the Henri Willig farm known for rich milk used in cheese