Industry news

Karsee sz Crisis in the dairy industry? At Johannes Blattner's farm in the Karsee hamlet of Endersen, there is little, if any, sign of it. The 26-year-old farmer has found a way to position himself successfully in a difficult market environment. A delegation from the SPD state parliament, headed by former Interior Minister Reinhold Gall, was recently able to see this for themselves. The cold, wet weather was not very hospitable, but the visiting politicians immediately felt welcome on the farm in Endersen 1 that morning. There is a table with coffee in the barn next to the cowshed, and Johannes Blattner takes the opportunity to say a few basic things about his profession. The 26-year-old young farmer talks about the current "generally depressed image" and the fact that traditional farmers are not recognised enough: "We need to open up and do more positive advertising," says Blattner. And: "We traditional farms have been doing organic farming for a long time, we just need to communicate that." Source: schwäbische.de

Salern - Irrigation in grassland was the main topic of this year's expert forum on mountain farming yesterday at the Salern Technical College. Irrigation is becoming an increasingly important issue, particularly in relation to grassland. Global warming and decreasing amounts of meltwater from glaciers will lead to problems with the availability of the water required for irrigation in the future, explained Martin Thalheimer, responsible for the "Soil, Fertilisation, Irrigation" working group at the Laimburg Research Centre.

Water requirements of agriculture in South Tyrol At the Expert Forum on Mountain Agriculture - organised by the Mountain Agriculture Department of the Laimburg Research Centre, the Salern College of Agriculture and the Mountain Agriculture Advisory Ring (BRING) - Thalheimer presented an overview of the available water resources in South Tyrol and put these in relation to the water requirements of agriculture: the water requirements of South Tyrolean agriculture are estimated at 150 million cubic metres, with around 60 percent being used for fruit growing, 10 percent for viticulture and 30 percent for grassland. source: suedtirolnews.it

Claudia Schatzmann's phone is currently ringing off the hook. The Iseltwalder is responsible for the landscape at the Oberland-Ost regional conference. And she is currently in high demand among local farmers. One of the most important phases of the year for farmers lasts until next Tuesday: the deadline survey. The procedure is similar to that for tax returns. The only difference is that the online programme for farmers is not called Tax Me, but Gelan. And they don't have to pay tax, they collect it. In Gelan, farmers enter their areas and elements that entitle them to direct payments. The contributions can be summarised in five pillars. There are cultural landscape contributions for farmers who ensure that hilly areas do not become scrubland or woodland. source: bernerzeitung.ch

At the provincial assembly of the South Tyrolean Farmers' Association on Saturday, three families received the Mountain Farmers' Award 2017 for the exemplary management of their farms. The Mountain Farmers' Award recognises people who achieve something special under difficult conditions. "They produce authentic, local quality products and look after the landscape. In contrast to other regions in the Alps, all of the agricultural land here is still farmed. This keeps the landscape attractive, which creates the basis for tourism and indirectly for the other economic sectors," said Leo Tiefenthaler, regional chairman of the farmers' association, at the farmers' association's regional meeting in Bolzano on Saturday. In addition, many mountain farmers are active in local clubs and associations and help to ensure that customs and traditions continue to be "lived". Source: Tageszeitung.it

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Heumilch has submitted an application to the EU for the "traditional speciality guaranteed" (TSG) label for sheep's and goat's hay milk. "The seal will give consumers an even greater guarantee of quality and authenticity," says Andreas Geisler, coordinator of ARGE Heumilch, according to a press release. Source: Schweizerbauer.ch

Calves are the future of dairy and beef cattle farms. The Competence Centre for Cattle Breeding and Dairy Farming in Pyhra (Lower Austria) is organising an international symposium on calf rearing. Speakers are: - Dr Martin Kaske from RGD Switzerland, - the veterinarians Dr Walter Peinhopf (Styria) and Dr Franz Kritzinger (Upper Austria), - Julia Trieb (AK Rindermast, LK Lower Austria) and Anton Andeßner (AK Rindermast, Upper Austria), as well as Marco Horn (AK... Source: Bauernzeitung.at

Bergmilch Südtirol/Mila is breaking new ground: since 1 March, the classic Mila fresh milk has been available exclusively as hay milk. It is available on the shelves as whole milk or semi-skimmed with 1.6 per cent fat. The packaging sizes on offer are half a litre and one litre. source: stol.it

Ten small Tyrolean dairies have joined forces to set up a joint cheese cutting and packaging plant in Schlitters in the Zillertal and will be able to offer their cheese in a wide variety of shapes and packaging units in line with market requirements.

Brixen - On Friday, the tenth South Tyrolean Mountain Farming Conference took place at the Forum in Brixen, which was well attended by more than 500 participants. The conference was ceremoniously opened with musical accompaniment and a speech by Daniel Gasser, Chairman of the BRING Mountain Farming Advisory Council.

Bolzano - "We want," emphasises Provincial Councillor Arnold Schuler, "to work together more closely in the area of mountain agriculture, exchange knowledge and work towards sustainable developments. This is why, on his initiative, a meeting was organised with the members of the Trentino and Lombardy regional governments responsible for agriculture.

Two friends have founded a dairy in the Allgäu region - and immediately won a major customer in Rewe. Their hay milk sets them apart from the competition. The hard-pressed farmers also benefit financially from this.

With the help of free and widely available radar images, LfL Bayern has developed a model to optimise yield determination in grassland.