Organic farming: the full variety – view

The ride up the hill leads past birch and apple trees, past meadows speckled with daisies. At the top, with a view of the expanse of the Suhrental, lies the Lottenhof. Icelandic horses snort in the open stable, to the left of which the rapeseed is in bloom. Wild barks can be heard when the car stops: farm dog Bailey expresses distrust. “It’s okay,” says Lottenhof farmer Thomas Anliker, reassuring the Appenzell mongrel. “Sometimes he gets upset quickly.”

On the other hand, the organic farm in Muhen in Aargau appears calm, if not to say idyllic. “Today is also a great day,” says Anliker and looks over the sunlit square. He’s lived here since he was two months old. At that time his parents took over the administration, later they became tenants. It was not always clear that he, who had just learned to be a baker, would take over the farm with its 32 hectares of land. «As a child I had to help a lot. I always thought, ‘just never become a farmer’. ” But now he has been running the farm with his wife Nicole for sixteen years. When he took up the lease, he switched the conventionally run business to organic. “I’ve never been a fan of a lot of concentrated feed, artificial fertilizers or chemical-synthetic pesticides.” He just wants nature and animals to be fine.

A squeak comes from the pigsty. Anliker and his father had rebuilt it a long time ago. Since then, the hundred fattening pigs not only have more space, but also exercise. A pig’s nose stretches over the enclosure. The organic farmer laughs: “You are curious.” The animals come in at around 20 kilos and stay until they weigh 120 kilos. It takes three to four months. “More like four, because they’re good at moving.” He delivers 200 pigs a year to that Coop Naturaplan Label. Enabling them to have a good life while they are here: He sees that as his job.

Anliker speaks louder, the mooing of the cows has reached a crescendo. Your stable on the north side of the courtyard consists of a spacious building with a sloping roof, open on two sides. It was rebuilt when Lottenhof switched from dairy cattle to suckler cow husbandry: the calves of the 23 cows stay with their mother for around ten months from birth. Half of the calves are then processed into meat for Coop. The other half of the organic meat is sold directly. The suckler cows stay on the farm for nine to ten years.

“This is Brenda,” Anliker introduces. Brenda is lying on straw, next to a muni of imposing size. “Ramses, very dear.” You build a relationship with the cows in particular. “If a cow has a difficult birth or if a calf is not ‘zwäg’, that is close.” But even a pig that is not doing well does not leave it untouched. Or if one of the animals suddenly dies. Although he is not one of those who constantly pats columns or «chüderled» cows, he definitely likes his animals.

There is simply not enough time for that. Because even an organic farm must be economical. And there is not a moment in which nothing arises. Mucking, feeding, haying, ensiling, fencing, repairing machines, cutting trees and, last but not least, administration. “During controls, I have to prove that the animals are well kept. For this purpose, exercise and grazing times and nutrient balances must be precisely documented. ”

His wife Nicole’s profession is horses and riding lessons. “Otherwise we will help each other where necessary.” There would be no other way, she adds. Her three children also have to step in sometimes. In addition to cows, horses, pigs and chickens, Anlikers also have goats, rabbits, cats and even bee colonies that provide their own honey. But the Lottenhof does not only live from animal diversity. The farm shop also sells spelled flour, jam, syrup, must and asparagus – all from our own production. “When someone asks me what we do, I am amazed at what I can list,” says the organic farmer.

Thanks to this diversity, there is always reason to be happy. Farm dog Bailey approaches again, now completely relaxed. “Diversity and biodiversity are also part of my understanding of organic livestock and agriculture,” continues Anliker. “In addition to animal welfare, of course.” And as if to confirm, Bailey can now be caressed with relish.