I manage my parents’ farm situated at the center of Rablà in Lower Val Venosta as the youngest of six children. My five sisters could also have followed in my father’s footsteps but I’m very happy that I was chosen by drawing lots. Six siblings, six apple varieties at the farm. Plus a few historic varieties such as „Gravensteiner“ and „Kalterer“ for own consumption as well as apricots and cherries. All from organic production, of course.

I work as a part-time organic producer. Farmers very much depend on the weather. You have to monitor the temperature, humidity, wind and hours of sunshine. Then you take important decisions based on predictions and empirical values. They are sometimes right and sometimes wrong. But everything depends on the weather and how you assess it. The weather is a driving factor in my main job as well. I work for a large producer of snow cannons where we try to reduce the dependence on the weather and to produce snow whenever Mother Holle is on strike. But we also depend on the right temperatures for good snow. Either way, the weather as a variable makes all my activities very exciting. When independent controls show analyses of leaves or fruits with great results, then I know that I assessed the weather correctly and took the right measures at the right moment.

Farmers have to be able to adapt to situations. We should not try to make ourselves independent from the weather, but should rather accept it as it is. Because the weather will never be totally predictable. Organic producers are curious observers and constantly learn with nature.