WOERLE dairy farmers are consciously committed to more biodiversity
Abandoned piles of wood, old fruit trees, strips of flowers or seldom mowed embankments - around the farm there is an incredibly large, often unconscious and yet valuable variety of life!
The WOERLE dairy farmers are innately in touch with nature and have always farmed in a cycle with and for nature. In addition to the lush meadows, there are structures on every farm that are low in yield or often seen as "sloppy", such as forgotten corners with rampant old grass or dried out blackberry bushes and nettles, seldom mowed and apparently unkempt embankments, ridges or rock piles. These areas, which are often neglected, are a habitat, nursery and retreat for valuable plant species, wild bees, ground beetles, butterflies, sand lizards and beneficial insects of all kinds - a paradise of diversity.
In order to discover the special features and natural treasures around the farm for yourself, the Austrian Board of Trustees for Agricultural Engineering and Rural Development (ÖKL) launched the "Diversity on my farm" project. It's about taking a close look, talking about it and noticing your own biodiversity. Agriculture makes a valuable contribution to the preservation of nature, which the project should bring to the attention of farmers and the public again, and thus make the connection between farming and biodiversity understandable.
During a voluntary farm tour, specially trained farmers created an individual biodiversity portfolio for their farms together with the farmers. The existing diversity of species is made aware of and can often be promoted with the simplest of measures. For example, there are ground beetle species that eat grubs and snails. Which farmer would not like to have more such guests on his meadows? – The Woerle dairy farmers can and should be proud of their biodiversity.
A big thank you!
Just a few months after the start of this initiative, we can already thank 20 of our dairy farmers for their efforts to promote biodiversity and wanted to honor this with personal recognition. The 20 participating companies are the Ruappenbauer in Straßwalchen, Hagenwaldmühle in Neumarkt, Scheitzenberg in Hallwang, Stummer, Mühlbauer and Lettner-Hingern in Zell am Moos, Tauchnerhof in Mattsee, Auer in Innerschwand am Mondsee, Brenner, Grasmann and Unterkapell in Seekirchen, Riedlbauer, Joglbauer and Stiedlbauer in Henndorf, Tumpingerbauer in Mondsee, Winkler and Mackl in Friedburg, Hauss in Palting, Vorderfreiling in Eugendorf and Glückerbauer in Köstendorf. Each participating company received a large aluminum yard board, where the individual measures are clearly illustrated.
