De Terp has been an organic arable farm since 1985, in the Dutch river lands, specializing in winter squash. Recently, the company started processing at the source of its organic squash.
Year round, the company supplies several retailers in the EU. This year, a grand total of 550 ha. of pumpkins are on contract for the northern and southern hemisphere.
"Quality and taste are paramount, and a limited number of edible pumpkin varieties with high brix values and a high dry matter content have been chosen. These varieties are excellent for various dishes. These are not the big production varieties (50 tons/ha.), but varieties with a modest yield of 20 tons/ha. As everyone knows, there is always a negative relationship between quality and high yields, and this is especially true for pumpkins, explains Jeroen Robbers, owner and founder of De Terp Squashpackers BV.
"We do not talk about pumpkin but of 'squash'; edible fruits with thick flesh, that have a nutty, relatively sweet taste," says Jeroen. "It is these slightly harder varieties that have the somewhat higher quality. They are of course very suitable for our new cutting and packaging line."
"We see that the pumpkin is pre-eminently a product which has an extra added value when pre-cut, because for the average consumer they are not easy to cut by hand. Until now, this has been a negative aspect, but with our own cutting and packaging line for the fresh cut department, we hope to turn this into an opportunity for the development of a new market."
De Terp focus on quality, the right varieties, the right growing areas, and year-round supply of sufficient volume. The processing line is suitable to run with a capacity of 1500 bags per hour, sufficient to supply several retailers. The sachets are packed carefully, without any additives, and they have a shelf life of over eight days.
"It goes without saying that our mission is to work in an organic, energy-neutral and carbon-neutral manner. Our packaging for the pumpkin cubes is therefore compostable, plastic-free and bio-based. All product is organic, Demeter, QS, Global Gap, IFS certified."
For more information:
Jeroen Robbers
De Terp Squashpackers
Tel: +31 0344 682009
info@cvdeterp.nl
www.cvdeterp.nl