Landscapes don't get much more typically Dutch than the one just outside the southern city of Den Bosch. Vast farmlands, cows, cornfields, a modern farm here and there and the outline of a small village on the horizon. But there's one element that doesn't seem to fit in the picture: a herd of forty camels, quietly grazing in a meadow next to a traditional dairy farm.

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It's the only camel farm in the Netherlands (and possibly in Europe) and it’s owned by farmer Frank Smits. A former student at a Dutch agricultural university, he investigated the commercial opportunities for camel milk as part of his studies. "I found that there is a market out there", he says. "I noticed there were no commercial camel milk farms in this part of the world, so I thought why not start one myself?"

Trial and error
Mr Smits imported three camels from Spain and Germany and leased a small piece of farmland just outside Den Bosch. He had to learn everything by trial and error, as there was hardly any practical information available on camel farming.
 
"We had a lot of problems in the beginning", he says. "We didn't know how to milk, how to manage the camels and how to sell the milk. But after a year things got better and I could buy more camels". 
 

Crazy?
His neighbours, all traditional dairy farmers, got a little suspicious when Mr Smits started his farm with his three camels in tow. "They probably thought I was crazy", he laughs. "But they are used to it now. They even help me out with many things".
 

Profitable
Some neighbours may even be jealous of Mr Smits, as the camel milk market - although very small - is probably more profitable these days than the traditional dairy market. "Cow milk prices are ridiculously low at the moment", Mr Smits says.

Camel milk is the only product Mr Smits can market, as it doesn't come with any by-products like cheese or cream, and he doesn't want to sell camel meat. This limits the business opportunities for camel products and at €6 (US$ 8.79) per litre, camel milk doesn't come cheap.

Health benefits
However, Mr Smits firmly believes camel milk is a better alternative to ordinary cow milk. "It has many health benefits", he says. "It's good for diabetics and people with intestinal problems. It also contains less than two percent fat, while cow milk has at least five percent fat".

Stress
But milking a camel is much more complicated than milking, say, a cow. "That's one of the reasons why there are no camel farmers here in the Netherlands", Mr Smits says. "It costs a lot of energy and it requires a lot of hand work. A camel is a very nice animal, but they can get stressed sometimes and when a camel is stressed, she won't give any milk. So you always have to be friendly with the camel. One example: I always walk in ordinary shoes, but when I wear my wooden clogs, I make more noise in the stable. The camels don't understand that and they won't give any milk".
 
"It's so important to keep the animals relaxed", he adds. "For me, it's best when the animals are quiet and happy. If they're not happy or if they make a lot of noise, they won't give milk. So a happy camel makes me happy".

See also the farm's website at www.kamelenmelk.nl (in Dutch).