From Vienna we drive north-east. Approaching Slovakia and the Czech Republic, our route passes through the hilly countryside of eastern Austria, famous for its vineyards. A few cellars lined up along the road indicate the central role of grape growing in the region. In the centre of the village of Hausbrunn, a yellow wall with a large green-painted wooden double door announces "11er Hof", a small family farm where Markus and Matthias live. On the pavement, at the entrance to the large gate, an old wooden armoire arouses our curiosity. Before announcing our arrival, we play the little mouse and carefully lift the wooden lock that closes the armoire door. Inside, everything is there: a refrigerator contains bottles of raw milk, fresh cheese and yoghurt. Next to the fridge, a plastified sheet indicates the price of each product and a metal box allows us to slip the money to buy the products in the fridge. Interesting... We'll come back later, because the big door opens!
Photo. Entrance door of the farm "11er Hof". Next to the door, a wooden armoire contains the farm's products.
It's 4pm, Markus and Matthias are back from their work outside and it's time for them to put on their breeder's clothes and start their second activity. Behind the perimeter wall, a large central courtyard is surrounded by several buildings typical of the farmhouses built in the region. A dwelling house, extended by stables to house the livestock and a covered walkway close the courtyard on the left. A brick wall closes the courtyard on the right. At the back, a large shed houses a tractor, fodder and some young cattle. Behind the large shed, a door opens onto a second courtyard, surrounded by new stables for the animals. This small farm, whose activity is barely perceptible from the street, houses a bit of everything, in small numbers! Three milking cows, four one- to two-year-old cattle, two goats and a six-month-old goat, a Schwaben sow, ten young pigs, a donkey, a small group of chickens, ducks and geese native to Austria and a few rabbits. At the same time, about 10 hectares are used to grow cereals for the animals' feed.
Photos from left to right. 1. Markus and Matthias' dog. 2. Young cattle. 3. The farm's poultry.
The walls around us are rich in history. Once owned by an earl, the maids slept in the stalls where the three cows are now housed. Markus' grandparents later took over the farmhouse and its twelve hectares of adjoining land. During the communist period, the animals from the farms in the area were requisitioned and sent to Russia. Markus tells us how his grandmother hid a hen in one of the attics, so that she always had some eggs. Markus inherited the property from his grandmother and rebuilt the farm, which had since been abandoned. Today, 11er Hof is one of the last farms in the village where animals are kept. Markus and Matthias have built up the small and varied farm they are so proud of today, stone by stone. "It started with a cow. In the neighbourhood, people thought you had to be a bit crazy to take a cow here. A few years later, our cereal plots started to yield well. The neighbours were surprised to see that we had the most productive crops! In fact, it was normal that we had better yields than elsewhere. By producing only cereals with chemical fertilisers, the soils become poorer. The manure from our animals enriches our soil in the long term and makes it more productive."
Photo. Under the shed, the tractor is bathed in the light at the end of the day.
For Markus and Matthias, the goal is simple: to be a modest food self-sufficient farmer and to sell the surplus to neighbouring residents. There is no question of them leaving their part-time jobs, nor is there any question of increasing production on the farm. In fact, production fluctuates even from month to month and year to year, and the number of animals on the farm is not fixed: what determines the number of animals on the farm is the amount of grain and co-products available to feed the animals. Markus and Matthias do not buy grain from outside. All the feed for the animals is produced here except for hay, which they mow on the wetlands along the Morava and Thaya rivers, located a few kilometres from here. "When we have less grain, we kill a pig earlier than planned, for example. On the other hand, when we have a lot of milk, the pigs also benefit and sometimes we slaughter pigs at 200 kilos!" explains Markus.
Photos 1 and 2. Growing sows and pigs on the farm. The animals have a separate lying area from the living and feeding area. As the pig is a clean animal, the lying areas are not dirty. A few weeks before farrowing, the sow will soon use the lying area as a nest for her piglets.
Markus and Matthias raise and cultivate according to the principles of organic farming, even if their products are not certified "AB". The reason is mainly administrative. The regulations for organic farming have recently changed and now require farmers to take their cows out to pasture every day of the year. The layout of Markus and Matthias' farm is not suitable for this. Like many small traditional farms in the region, "the pastures available for the animals are not adjacent to the farm, so it is impossible to graze the animals when they are sheltered on the farm for the winter," explains Markus. But that doesn't mean that the few cows and their calves don't have a daily excursion to the farmyard. This recreational outing is the perfect opportunity for the calves to throw their long legs into a rodeo competition. A quarter of an hour of madness is quickly dissipated when it's time to drink their mothers' milk. The milk is collected here, but only after the young calves' appetites have been satisfied. "We have three cows: Nina, Arnika and Burgel. Arnika has two calves because Nina didn't accept hers. It is her first calf and she was very stressed after calving. We don't milk Arnika, because she gives all her milk to both calves. Instead, we milk Nina and Burgel. Burgel only has one calf and after giving her milk, there is still milk for us! This is a philosophy that is rarely found in dairy farming, as calves are big milk consumers. Leaving the calf with its mother means that a large proportion of the milk produced cannot be used. At 11er Hof, the amount of milk produced is not a criterion for the economic survival of the farm, since the primary objective is to feed its inhabitants - Markus and Matthias - and, as a bonus, the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. However, this way of raising calves has a cost: the litre of milk that the two men sell is around two euros. For Markus, "if customers want our calves to stay with their mothers, they have to accept that the price of milk is higher, because we don't collect as much." This does not prevent the "11er Hof" farm from enjoying a loyal clientele, who are even prepared to travel from Vienna to taste its fresh products.
Photos from left to right. 1. Photo. Arnika, Markus and Matthias' Tyrolean Grey cow, with her two healthy calves. On one of her horns, Arnika has an engraved flower (edelweiss): a symbol of a prize won by the beautiful grey cow. 2. Burgel, Montafon cow and her calf.
Markus and Matthias' consideration and respect for animals does not end there. The two men make it a point of honour to slaughter their animals as gently as possible and far away from the big slaughterhouses. The pigs are killed on the farm while they are drinking their last bowl of milk. The young cattle, on the other hand, leave at the age of two to Helga and Wolfgang, two farmers who have built their own slaughterhouse on the farm. Markus and Matthias tell us: "The end of our animals goes very smoothly. Wolfgang is extremely gentle with the animals. We take them in a small trailer, get there and walk around with the animals until they get used to the place and relax. The animals are killed outside the slaughterhouse, so they are not stressed.
Photo. Helga with one of her cows. Helga and Wolfgang raise 34 suckler-cow of several breeds: Pinzgauer, Angus, Wagyu and Salers. They have 100 hectares of grassland and raise their cattle on pasture during the summer, then on hay, silage and grain during the winter. The animals are slaughtered between 3 and 4 years old. Their very marbled meat is appreciated and offered in some local restaurants.
Night falls on the yard of 11er Hof. The pigs' lodges in the backyard are cleaned. Their grain rations are distributed. After a few hours of relaxation in the farmyard, the cows and calves return to their stalls. It's time to milk Nina and Burgel and one of the two Styrian goats. "Matthias is the cow expert and I am the goat expert," says Markus with a laugh. For the two cows, Matthias uses a milking pot. For the goat, Markus milks by hand. When the goat is finished milking, it's time to eat: hay and grain for everyone, plus the last drops of milk for the six-month-old goat. Meanwhile, the cat keeps a close eye out for rodents with the hope of licking up a few drops of the freshly collected milk. While hope keeps shining in the cat's eyes, we leave 11er Hof, stopping at the fridge to grab a few drops of milk for our next breakfast.
Photos from left to right. Matthias milking Nina. 2. Markus milking the goat by hand. 3. During milking. 4. 6-month-old female goat. 5. Farmyard at nightfall. 6. Cat in the covered corridor along the barn.
Did you know?
- Organic Austria
In Austria, organic farming accounts for more than 25% of the country's agricultural area (far ahead of France, where just under 8% of land is farmed organically)! This makes Austria the leading country in Europe in terms of the amount of land devoted to organic farming. The main reason for this is the Austrian agricultural policy, which has provided strong incentives for conversion to organic farming. The incentives have been aimed at raising awareness of the environmental risks of conventional farming, alerting Austrians to the danger of conventional farming for small-scale producers and creating a real Austrian agricultural identity through organic farming.
- In wine country
Kellergasse (wine cellars) or Presshäuser (wine presses) are characteristic buildings in the Lower Austrian wine region (east of Vienna). These two-level sheds housed the wine press on the ground floor and the cellars underground.
- Famous village
Hans Asperger, the pediatrician who gave his name to Asperger's Syndrome, was born on a farm in Hausbrunn in 1906! He later grew up in Vienna. He discovered the syndrome in 1944 and it was later recognised as an autism spectrum disorder.