Where our Kathreinhof stands today, in the 19th century was the estate of the Counts of Mohr, who owned several castles in South Tyrol such as Lichtenegg near Mals and Untermontani near Latsch. The stones that once made up the storage tower of this noble estate are still built into the cellar walls of the Kathreinhof. My grandfather bought the farm in 1928, passed it on to my father, who then handed it down to me. Today my wife, our four children, my mother, and I live on the farm. Until just a few years ago, animals were still kept here for self-sufficiency.

On our organic orchards we cultivate Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Pinova, Fuji, Ambrosia, and Gala. Since converting to organic farming, a certain nostalgic romanticism has returned to the farm, reminding me of my childhood days. My children also seem to feel this positive energy – not only when they want to sell apples to passing tourists, because I told them how I used to do the same as a child. With the money I earned selling apples, I bought my first dog, something I was very proud of back then.

There are only very few professions in the world where a father can take his young children with him to work, and they can play and entertain themselves while he carries out his tasks. Sometimes it also causes a little distraction, like when my two-year-old son Mathis, with his toy digger, dug up a seedling I had carefully planted just minutes before. All this reminds me of the carefree spirit of my childhood, when I used to climb the very tall trees of those days.

It was my brother, who had switched to organic farming fourteen years earlier, who gave me this “organic impulse” and familiarized me with that world. I feel it especially when my children call out to me: “Dad, bring an apple home for me!”