The sun paints dark cloud shadows on green alpine meadows, a golden eagle circles in the sky and a loud, powerful "Moo!" can be heard from time to time in the distance. In the middle of it all? Peter Klotz. "I've been breeding cattle since 1994," recalls the now retired farmer. "My family and I own a farm with the animals on a total of ten hectares of land in the Alps."
Protecting the animals from the Alps
They also entered the highest level of nature conservation this year. "We adhere to certain measures that are monitored by the province of Tyrol. This is how we preserve biodiversity." The Klotz family opted for extensive farming, which is less yield-orientated than intensive farming, but promotes biodiversity in an environmentally friendly way.
"We also don't separate our young animals from their mother. They are on the pastures in Ehrwald all year round and are always accompanied by a shepherd. Nevertheless, you should check yourself every few days to make sure everything is OK up there," explains Klotz. "And when I'm on the mountain pasture with my grandchildren, the calves come running as soon as the children call them by name. This teaches the little ones to love the animals in the Alps. That is the most important prerequisite for my work. Everything else comes naturally, but you have to put your heart into it.
Everyday life as a farmer today
Peter Klotz currently owns eleven Scottish Highland cattle in brown and black coat colours. "We sell on our best animals for breeding, the others are slaughtered at some point." He sells the meat to private customers. "I'm glad that in today's modern times, people are changing their minds about regional organic meat," admits Klotz. In this way, the next generation of farmers can be better secured.
But there are also one or two difficulties that are part of his everyday life. "There's the wolf, for example, which is always up to mischief here. But also climate change and advancing industrialisation - we farmers have to step on the gas and keep up to date with the latest developments." Nevertheless, at the end of the day, all that matters to him are the wonderful experiences with the animals in the Alps.
Among the bees
Harmony with animals and nature is a top priority not only in highland cattle farming, but also in beekeeping. Beekeepers Peter Spielmann and Peter Steger know all about this. After all, they took over beekeeping from their fathers. "We breed the Carnica species," explains Spielmann, who has ten of his own colonies. "It's not as stingy and is particularly common in Central Europe," adds Steger, who is currently looking after his four colonies.
As beekeeping, with up to 30,000 bees per hive, is more or less part of factory farming, the two beekeepers need a certain instinct for their animals from the Alps. "For example, we can recognise what mood the insects are in even before we open the hive based on the sounds the bees make," explains Spielmann, who is also the chairman of the Zwischentoren beekeeping association. "And a tip for anyone who also wants to become a beekeeper: Our association helps out beginners at any time and teaches them not only the tasks, but above all the fun of beekeeping."
A job to be taken seriously
However, beekeeping also comes with certain obligations. For example, swarming, feeding and treatment times must be observed. "Ultimately, however, you have to let the bees run free. Too much intervention is not good in the end."
And that pays off: "The variety of flower-rich alpine meadows and unspoilt nature in Tyrolean honey makes it unique," emphasises Steger. The couple extract the honey from the combs once a year. It is then sieved and, once it has the right water content, skimmed, stirred and filled into jars. Nevertheless, bees should not be bred for commercial purposes. "It's about living with the animals in the Alps and thus having a more intensive connection with nature," smiles Spielmann.
