2024-07-15 21:26:59
Veterinarian Lukáš Hlubek bought an agricultural area 15 years ago, which he turned into the most productive goat farm in Europe. “Even though we are Czech farmers, our concept is based on the French breed of goats and French know-how. People say that goat products stink. They are building on negative experiences, which may not be true at all,” explains the founder of the Bon Lait brand in the yard of the farm in the village of Krmelín.
“Why did we start a goat farm? Because goats are optimistic,” says Lukáš Hlubek, who founded the Bon Lait brand together with his wife Michaela, with a smile. They are standing in the goat pen and the curious animals are stroking their heads. “It’s hard to describe, but when you deal with animals on a daily basis, you understand. While cows can be angry and horses can be nasty, goats are always in a good mood. They’re extremely curious about what they’re going to eat, they’re goofy, yes. But it never happens that would come to you and bump into you on purpose,” explains farmer and veterinarian Hlubek.
The dream of starting his own farm and a gourmet dairy came about when he and his friend, a veterinarian, were traveling around Europe and visiting Dutch and French farms. “We’d take six-day road trips by car, covering eight and a half thousand kilometers. Most nights we’d cross over, one sleeping and the other driving. During the day we’d visit farms until we were exhausted. Whether they were better or worse businesses, we found inspiration everywhere,” he recalls.
I can’t accept that we’re going to make everything from soy
Although he has specialized in horse surgery all his life and founded a horse clinic in Petřvald 18 years ago, he also started gradually building a goat farm 15 years ago. “I’m a child from a block of flats, but I’ve had a relationship with animals since I was little. During my work on agricultural farms, I also began to understand what it takes to produce the best animal products,” describes Hlubek, as he leans against the fence and the goats rub him the heads beckon him to pet them.
“I enjoyed learning about how to produce the best eggs, cheese, and meat. I can’t relate to today’s idea that we’re going to make everything from soy. We’ve been domesticating animals for 40,000 years, which means they’re an integral part of our gene pool “Agriculture has been here since the beginning of man, and I am fascinated by the process of producing gourmet and healthy food,” says Hlubek. “What is milked here goes immediately through the yard for processing to the dairy,” he adds.
In France, he was amazed by the modern breeding of dairy French goats, of which he has over a thousand today. “He was about something completely different from what was customary in the Czech Republic,” he says. “Sánské goats produce milk all year round. In addition, one goat milks about four liters a day, and our record holder even 11,” explains Hlubek, a fact that has made his company one of the most productive goat farms in Europe. The second reason is strict hygiene, which is confirmed by the IFS international quality and safety certificate.
What is milked in Krmelín goes through the yard to the dairy. | Photo: Jiří Zerzoň
“Even though we are Czech farmers, our concept is based on the French breed of goats and French know-how. People say that goat products stink. They are building on negative experiences, which may not be true at all,” he points out.
He can milk goats and operate on horses
So they brought the gourmet brand Bon Lait to the market, under which they produce goat’s milk, yogurts, fresh cheeses, feta, gouda, grilled cheese, cottage cheese, colostrum and also ice cream. Their salted caramel-flavored goat yogurt and fresh goat’s milk have also received the Regional Food of the Moravian-Silesian Region award, but they are also available in large chains.
“We realized that if we want our products to reach people, they simply have to be in supermarkets. People won’t come all the way to Ostrava to taste our products,” says Hlubek, who was helped by Lenka Šíchová to enter Czech stores. “I came to see Mr. Hlubek with my sick horse, which he was operating on. When I slept in the stables for a week, he took me to taste their products and said that he would like to start his own mini-pharmacy,” she recalls. “Even though I specialize in foreign markets, their approach and philosophy appealed to me so much that I decided to help them,” she describes.
Although the farm is doing well and Bon Lait has become a so-called love brand over the years (favorite brand – editor’s note), The Hlubkas are struggling with rising costs and rising electricity prices. “Even though it is said that it is stupid to sit on several chairs at the same time, on the contrary, it helps me when I can clear my head while operating on horses. I must not think about any worries in the operating room, I only operate for three hours at a time,” says Hlubek, whose clinic he receives 600 patients a year and he often operates on one horse a day.
As he walks past the goats being milked using milking machines, his thoughts return to the farm: “Of course I can milk,” he answers when asked about his milking skills. “You have to stop the flow of milk with your thumb and then you gradually close your palm finger by finger, like this,” Hlubek shows. “The first ten thousand animals are the worst, but then it goes well,” he concludes with a laugh.
Video: Interview with a young farmer from Štětovice near Prostějov (December 23, 2022)
Interview with a young farmer from Štětovice near Prostějov | Video: Jakub Zuzánek, Kateřina Vítková