Biodiversity in the hands of farmers
While domestic gardens show more and more crushed stone and gravel in the most dazzling colors and grain sizes or work all year round to create a lawn that is as flawless as possible, the criteria for perfect agricultural meadows in Austria's largest hay milk region lie somewhere else. That is why we would like to show that species protection and agriculture are not opposites, but are inseparably connected with one another in day-to-day work on the farm. But we want to do more. – Our hay milk meadows are a paradise of biodiversity. Therefore, together with the farming families, we launched our lighthouse project "Biodiversity in Farmers' Hands" in 2019.
Every courtyard has corners and spots that offer little use. With precisely these areas, our farmers will create a close-meshed mosaic within the next 10 years. With Gstetten, poor or sour meadows, road or forest edges, embankments or areas around power poles, a wide variety of habitats and retreats for a wide variety of animals and plants are created in order to create stepping stone effects for insects and the like across the entire Woerle Heumilch region and to document them scientifically. The farms themselves decide what happens where and consciously give nature the chance to be "nature" again. Our dairy farmers do this voluntarily and with a lot of commitment and know-how and not because it is required by law.
It is important to use the simplest means to promote biodiversity in grassland in a sensible way, without causing an economic disadvantage for agriculture. We are aware that effective environmental protection can only work if it can be implemented by everyone in the long term. And only then will it also have an effect on future generations. "Biodiversity in Farmers' Hands" will be presented by the external experts Dr. Konrad Steiner (scientific advisor), Dr. Johann Neumayer (entomologist and bumblebee expert) and biologists from the University of Salzburg.
Our project, planned until 2030, brings many advantages such as:
- Higher yields through more pollination power
- Increasing soil health and fertility
- Healthier feed for the cows
- Greater resilience to periods of drought
- Protection from pests and diseases
- Climate protection through CO2 stabilization in the ground
