XtraBlatt Issue 02-2017

T
From the North German point of view, Gunzesried
near Sonthofen nestles not only idyllically in the Alpine
foothills, but also high up. Can one really farm here?
Yes, emphatically! The Sichler family has proved this for
over 180 years. Living and working on the farm are Ines
and Martin Sichler, their two children and the grandparents.
The farm runs to 74 ha including 20 ha woodland.
Only 24 ha are mowable grassland and 30 ha comprise
mountainside pasture, known here as alm. Not to be forgotten
are also the 25 Braunvieh cows and the holiday
guests on the farm: visitors that can be found there nearly
the whole year round. And many of these guests are
enthusiastic purchasers of the cheese produced by the
Sichler family, along with other coop members of the village
“sennerei”, or cheese plant. More synergy between
mountains, cows and farmers cannot be found.
“The youngsters are on summer vacation up in the
Alps,” jokes Martin Sichler, meaning the herd youngstock
summering on the mountainside. He adds: “One of our
alms lies at 1000 m, the other at 1250 m over sea level.
In the past, the lower alm was used for the cows and the
other for youngstock. In 2003, the current loose housing
barn was built. Even then, we grazed and mowed the alm
until 2005. But mowing was difficult and that’s why we
now have two areas near the steading that we cut daily
in summer for zero grazing the herd. This gives the cattle
fresh forage, even though they are indoors. Not until September
do the cows get out to graze.
HAY QUALITY
IS IMPORTANT
Along with the grass, 50% hay is fed, a third of which is
lucerne hay bought-in from France to add more fibre.
“The advantage is that we can mow often,” explains Ines
Sichler. The family have bought lucerne hay for four years
now. Price: 285 euros/t. The cows get pure lucerne
hay mornings and fresh grass in the evening. Good feed
At home and at work on the Sichler farm are Ines and Martin Sichler,
pictured here with their children Leonie and Nepomuk.
quality is important here. To achieve the right structure
of forage, the first cut is not too early, mostly carried
out in May just as the dandelions begin to flower. Ines
Sichler mows, turns and teds. Husband Martin drives the
Metrac with self-loading wagon. The Metrac is a special
tractor that’s light and easy to handle on steep slopes.
Because of the unevenness of the pasture, cutting height
on slopes is about 6 - 7 cm. The aim being to cut as clean
forage as possible for highest quality feed. The Krone EasyCut
front mower is used (3.20 m working width) with
mounted conditioner on the rear three-point hitch.
As soon as the dew is off the grass, the mowing starts.
The conditioner spreads the grass wide and quite thinly so
that first turning can be carried out at around 2 pm. The
Krone KW 7.92 has a working width of 8 m. Second turning
takes place the next day at around 10 am, followed
by tedding with a Swadro TS 620 Twin with the hay then
carted in via self-loading wagon.
In total, three to four cuts per year take place. Theoretically,
more cuts could be done. But this farm is managed
extensively. The only fertiliser applied is slurry and farmyard
manure from the herd. Keeping to extensive management
means the Sichlers receive state subsidy. On the
other hand, less biomass is produced.
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