"Man muas ois nema wias kimd"

“The farm was founded in 1956 by my grandfather from a married couple
bought. The four sons of Mrs. Rosina Soller had all died after the war and Jakob Soller had no children. So the farm was sold with debts and the obligation to care for the Soller couple in their old age and to ensure their livelihood. The farm has improved over the years
constantly expanded and in 1960 the first tractor (Eicher Panther with 19 hp) came to the farm”, Stefan Zehner begins the story about his farm.

By the way, the tractor he is talking about is still in use today
Family owned and cherished there. The farm's dairy farm was converted to breeding sows in 1979. 1994 the cattle husbandry
then completely abandoned, a year later also the conventional one
guided farming.

Farm takeover and conversion to organic

“My wife Sandra and I then started again in 2014 with the
We started farming and it was clear to us from the start that we wanted to run our farm according to the organic farming guidelines. We worked very closely with the Biohof Freiberger, e.g
Machine communities, helping each other out in the event of work bottlenecks and, of course, always talking shop about what to try next.”

In addition to working on the farm, Stefan also works for Schwieger Dienstleis GbR. "Here
Seed (organic as well as conventional) is processed, packaged and everything that goes with it. I am also involved in agriculture and everything to do with house and yard.”

Cultivation of oil pumpkin planned

And it certainly won't get boring on the farm. Because in addition to the cultivation of grain, legumes and grassland, the Bioland farmer is always trying out new things. In 2021 he wants to grow oil pumpkins for the first time.

He also likes to see what becomes of his products, which is why he appreciates the partnership with Barnhouse so much.

"We like being barnhouse farmers because you know what's going on with yours
products is made and the theme of regionality from the producer to
can be lived for processing. The partnership
Working with Barnhouse is fun and it's proof that
you can be successful without exploiting the farmers.”

Enabling a future worth living

For Stefan, however, the most important thing about his work is running it
an agriculture with nature and future. Above all, he wants to give his children a future that is worth living
is. One of the driving forces behind this is the life in his fields: "It doesn't matter whether it's plants, insects, birds or all small game, it's fun to show that there is another way."