Eurosite’s ABC working group may be exactly what you want to join

Christine Bajohr, farmer and landowner in the German Allgäu, bordering Switzerland and Austria, recently gave an inspiring lecture (here’s the webinar recording) about the KuhProKlima Projekt.

Christine and her husband Martin are the 4th generation of the farming family to run their mountain farm. About 10-15 years ago, they realised they could no longer continue traditional farming methods, especially given the increasing weather extremes, and sought new solutions.

Christine laughs, “In the beginning, we tried many things and made many, many mistakes”. But over the years, she and her husband, a true Allgäuer (you have to travel to the Allgäu yourself to find out what that means), have discovered strategies for letting the cattle graze in a way that improves the basic ecosystem processes on site and brings everything back into a more balanced and resilient state.

To get answers to the many questions that emerged along her regenerative land management path, she founded the Operational Group Grassland (OG-Grünland) together with other dairy farmers and scientists, and in 2020 launched the EIP-Agri on-farm-research project called KUHproKLIMA (Cows for Climate). Currently, Christine is crowdfunding this project here. Any contributions are welcome!

So why am I introducing you to Christine Bajohr?

Well, I firmly believe that networking makes all the difference. Christine and many others from all over Europe frequently meet in the Eurosite Agriculture, Biodiversity and Climate (ABC) Working Group, which Anton Gazenbeek chairs. It’s a great platform to meet and exchange experiences as a farmer, conservationist, or researcher.

If you want to join the group, you are welcome to contact Harm Schoten, Eurosite’s director, at hschoten@eurosite.org.

From the ABC working group website:

Nature-friendly farming has a pivotal role in solving the biodiversity and climate crisis. That’s why the Agriculture, Biodiversity and Climate (ABC) working group brings together farmers with conservation practitioners and researchers.