German family praises benefits of agritourism

Dairy couple decided to exploit the beauty of their location after milk price drop left them struggling

A German dairy farming family who decided to try agritourism after their milk price plummeted have been able to invest in a hi-tech milking system thanks to their decision to diversify.

Elmar Victor and his wife Iris were struggling to make ends meet after their milk price dropped to 21€c/litre (17.5p/ litre) – a loss of 19€c (15.8p) for every litre they produced.

Unsure how to make their 40-head herd of holstein-cross cattle profitable, the couple decided to make the most of their surroundings by opening a holiday home.

“We only have a small farm, and the income from 40 cows wasn’t enough,” said Elmar, who manages the dairy herd on the 32ha enterprise in Monschau-Konzen on the GermanBelgian border.

“We could either grow the number of cattle or look at the alternatives.

“With the low milk price, diversifying seemed like the right decision.”

With their farm located in the picturesque North Eiffel region, an area which attracts tourists throughout the year, the couple decided to make the move into farm holidays, opening their first rental apartment within their existing farmhouse in 1999.

Using her previous experience of working in sales and marketing, Iris set about promoting the apartment as a farm stay, where families could learn about agriculture.

“We decided to focus on the idea that this was a great place to bring children, where they could learn about how their food is produced and get a hands-on experience of farming,” she said.

“We have lots of activities families can get involved with. They can help on the farm by feeding the animals, they can watch the milking and we have a model cow so they can have a go at milking by hand.

“We also run walking and smugglers tours: Our farm shares a border with

Belgium and the route was used to smuggle goods over in the past, so we can teach visitors a bit about the history of the area.”

The first apartment proved so successful that in 2001 the couple added two more properties to the farmhouse. A further two were added in 2004.

“It’s been a huge success for us, with an average of 280 days’ occupancy – about 80% – every year,” Iris said.

“We’re able to manage everything ourselves, so we don’t have any additional staff costs, but it’s provided the income we need to keep the farm running.”

Perhaps one of the more surprising outcomes of the move into agritourism is that it’s given the couple the opportunity to invest in a robotic milking system – something they would have struggled to achieve had they continued solely as a dairy unit.

“Price pressure is huge in the dairy industry,” said Elmar.

“When we’re losing money on producing milk it might seem sensible to pull out of production, but we need the cows to encourage people to visit the farm.”

Since building the previous dairy in 1991 Elmar had been using a tandem parlour milking system, but realised it was forcing him to spend longer in the dairy when he could have been helping with the profitable holiday lets.

“I wanted more flexibility and to be able to have more time for our guests,” he said.

“I realised that a robotic milker could help me do that – plus it’s an added attraction for our guests.”

Last November the couple invested €120,000 (£100,249) in a Lely Astronaut, which they financed over 15 years.

While a second-hand machine would have been cheaper and taken just 10 years to pay back, they decided a new one with a guarantee reduced the risk for them. To keep costs as low as possible, they also installed the system into the existing barn.

“You don’t get more milk from a new barn, so if the cows can manage in the old one it made sense to keep it,” Elmar said.

“I haven’t had to change the cubicles or the slat flooring, it just slipped straight into the existing shed.

“So far, it’s been a success. The cows are outside on the pasture from 9am until 4pm, and come in once or twice a day to be milked.

“There are usually around 10 cows which need to be milked at the end of the day, but it’s so much quicker for me to do that than the whole herd.”

It’s been a huge success for us, with an average of 280 days’ occupancy – about 80% – every year. IRIS VICTOR

Elmar and Iris, left, and their farm on the German-Belgian border.