Farm walk at Jakob Loidolt
Grear diversity in a small space
Participants of the farm walk on August 22nd learned what is possible in agriculture on a small area on the farm of our biodiversity ambassador Jakob Loidolt in the northern Waldviertel. Together with his parents and siblings, Jakob runs an arable farm of around 16 hectares. Despite the small size of the farm, the Loidolts manage to grow a remarkable variety of potatoes, grains, vegetables and fruit. This requires a lot of logistics in cultivation, harvesting and storage. The participants were able to get an idea of this on site.
The cultivation of various types of potatoes, including old rarities such as Kipfler, old types of grain, as well as fruit and vegetables, ensures that the Loidolt family's business is broadly based. Partial or complete crop failures in one crop do not necessarily lead to financial bottlenecks - there are enough other crops to switch to if necessary. This provides a certain level of security, particularly in times of climate change with the associated weather vagaries. In addition, the diversity of crops in a small area creates enormous structural diversity in the cultural landscape. This creates valuable food and refuge areas for animals in the open cultural landscape. Diversity pays off - both ecologically and economically.
Harvesting potato varieties of different sizes can be a technical challenge. The small varieties in particular fall through the conveyor belts of conventional potato harvesters. This is one of the many reasons why Jakob swears by the older models when it comes to machines. In his fleet - which the participants of the walk were also able to get an impression of - there are machines from the 1970s, among others. The old machines in particular can be structurally adapted even more easily to the requirements that Jakob has for his harvesting, cultivation and care equipment. In addition, the small size and the correspondingly lighter weight of the older machines are an advantage for cultivating the small fields. With a lot of skill, patience and inventiveness, Jakob has, for example, converted three potato harvesters on the farm so that they provide him with useful support when harvesting the different sized potato varieties.
Once a week, potatoes, grains and other farm products such as jams and honey are sold at markets in Vienna. This is how the Loidolts bring their variety of varieties to the people. Market visitors appreciate it and rave about the taste of the otherwise probably forgotten, old varieties. The positive feedback from their customers and their appreciation for their work is confirmation for the Loidolt family that they have taken the best path for them: away from anonymous potato dumping at middlemen and towards a sustainable way of doing business in which quality comes before quantity.