FERME LAROCK - BIODYNAMIE
- Type
- Farm / Primary Producer
- Location
- Rotheux-Rimière, Belgium
- Industries
- Livestock farming, Arable farming, Food ingredients & products, Shortening supply chain
- Domains
- Flour, Ingredients, Fruit, Plant based primary products, Vegetables, Beverages, Processed food products, Dairy products
- Technologies
- Processing
About FERME LAROCK - BIODYNAMIE
La Ferme Larock is a biodynamic farm in Rotheux, Belgium, with roots going back to 1927 and a family-led restart in 1986 by Louis Larock. Over time, it has grown into a diversified farm combining livestock, market gardening, a farm shop, a children’s garden, training activities, and a social-purpose cooperative.
The farm presents itself as a living place for agricultural and social experimentation, built around biodynamic principles and close links between producers, consumers, learners, and local partners. It aims to offer local, high-quality food while preserving farmland, supporting resilient small-scale agriculture, and creating a community around the farm.
Core Values
- Biodynamic agriculture: Biodynamics is the guiding framework across the farm’s activities, shaping how it manages land, animals, crops, and learning.
- Local and short supply chains: The farm emphasizes proximity, direct sales, and support for local producers and consumers through its shop and cooperative structure.
- Social connection: It seeks to create spaces for encounter and exchange between producers and consumers, and to build a community around food and farming.
- Environmental stewardship: The farm highlights the protection of agricultural land and the practice of durable, environmentally respectful farming.
- Education and transmission: Training, welcoming learners, and sharing practical agricultural knowledge are central to the farm’s mission.
Unique Aspects
- Long family history: The farm has existed in Rotheux since 1927, and Louis Larock’s 1986 takeover turned it into a regional pioneer of biodynamic farming.
- Citizen-backed land protection: The farm worked with Terre-en-Vue and its cooperative model to secure farmland for sustainable use rather than speculation.
- Social-purpose cooperative: Since 2018, the Ferme Larock cooperative has linked the farm’s sectors and supported the shop, local food access, and producer-consumer relationships.
- On-farm cheese making: Cyrille and Zoë transform all of their milk on site into a range of raw-milk cheeses and dairy products under the name Ferme au Vivier.
- Integrated farm ecosystem: The farm combines livestock, market gardening, education, a shop, and events in one place, making it more than a production site.