“You can only have an effect in life if you let life have an effect on you”

Bernhard Heindl and Rebecca Krebs run their farm, the Heindl farm (original name was "Paur z'Asen") in the second generation. The company with 29 hectares of agricultural land and 3 hectares of forest is purely a family business and is run by the two as a sideline.

Bernhard is a full-time teacher and consultant in the agricultural administration, his partner Rebecca works at a secondary school as a biology and chemistry teacher. Nature is always in the foreground for both of them, which is why the farm was converted to organic in 1992.

“For us, organic farming means being part of nature and working in harmony with it. Sometimes nature puts your own serenity to the test - see the weather for the grain harvest. In return, the food obtained is valued all the more afterwards," explains the Demeter farmer.

But what is it about organic farming that fascinates Bernhard and Rebecca so much?

“In biodynamic agriculture, the farm is viewed as a farm organism, which means everything is interconnected. You have to deal intensively with the cycles of the company. For example, it is important to know the soil and its livestock. Demeter is the only organic farming association with mandatory animal husbandry. Our cattle are of central importance for the natural nutrient supply of our fields. It is not permitted to use mineral fertilizers, so green manure must be included in the crop rotation in addition to manure”.

Crop rotation is another important tool of organic farming. This means that a different crop is grown on a field each year to avoid pest pressure and maintain soil fertility.

If you look at all these points, it quickly becomes clear: There is no year like the previous one. But Bernhard and Rebecca always face the challenges and learn something new from year to year.

So they recently tried a new project, truffle cultivation. Maybe we should also see this as a challenge and think about a savory Krunchy?

Until then, however, Bernhard will continue to grow oats and spelt for Barnhouse. Because just as we appreciate the work with our regional partner farmers, this is also based on reciprocity:

“I really enjoy being part of the Barnhouse team. A good, long-term relationship with my customers is very important to me, and I particularly like the fact that Barnhouse promotes and appreciates regional cultivation.

In addition, Barnhouse is very interested in a regular exchange with the farmers in order to bring the work behind the product closer to the consumers".

Promoting and preserving biological diversity is not only a major advantage of organic farming, but also a major concern for our regional partner farmers. On the fields of Demeter farmer Bernhard and his wife Rebecca, not only spelled and the good Barnhouse oat SinaBa for your Krunchy grows. In addition to his grain fields, Bernhard also has two wild fields on which glowing mulleins, sweet clover and many other plants sprout and thrive.

An Eldorado for insects, which find a habitat here for which there is often no room in industrial agriculture. Such areas are a boon for the entire local ecosystem. Because if wild bees and other insects feel comfortable here, the bird life will also find plenty of food. Incidentally, so-called biodiversity areas are stipulated in the Demeter guidelines and must be at least 10% of the farm area.