in this and we are very proud that all our cow farmers have achieved their 100% grazing goal once again! Many of our dairy farmers have their cows grazing in pastures up to 4000 hours a year, much longer than the average in the Netherlands. Pasturing is not only good for the animals and the milk, but also essential for a healthy biodiversity under, on and above the grassland. With our own dairy farm in Kawoude, we aim to inspire other farmers. We have started a project in cooperation with Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and several of our colleague cattle farmers to investigate the advantages of sustainable milking practice. In addition, we have established some great new relationships, for example, the manure from our cow shed goes to a biodynamic arable farmer and in return we get his organic crops as feed for our cows. Wiebe Willig CEO Henri Willig Group 5 PREFACE The year 2021 was a year of ups and downs. To keep it positive; you only really learn to sail with headwinds, and we certainly experienced headwinds in 2021. Our stores had another exceptionally difficult year, whilst demand for our cheese made in Heerenveen continued to grow and ensured a reasonably full production throughout the year. Despite all the challenges, we are continuing to invest in sustainability, because at Henri Willig we want to inspire the world and leave it better than we found it. Above all, 2021 has been a year in which we worked incredibly hard to realize our ambitions and sustainability goals. This is certainly necessary because both biodiversity and the numbers of animals and plants living in agricultural land have declined significantly in recent decades due to the use of large amounts of pesticides, mineral fertilizers, energy and fresh water resources. Our livestock farmers are working as hard as possible in harmony with nature to bring back the biodiversity that once characterized our country. Grazing plays a big part
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