HofLabor
on-farm innovation for regenerative mosaic farming
Innovation IN agriculture
At HofLabor we develop “mosaic farming”.
Today nature conservation and food production are often in conflict. Environmental targets on air, water and soil pollution, loss of biodiversity and climate change are systematically missed.
With regenerative mosaic agriculture, we want to develop a new SYSTEM that can resolve this conflict. With a combination of controlled traffic farming, diverse strip cropping, soil-conserving tillage and large-scale mulching systems, we produce vegetables, grains and potatoes without fertilizers and pesticides on currently 20 hectares.
Our approaches are not new and many farmers are experimenting with strip cropping, cover crops, soil-conserving tillage, mulch and biodiversity elements. However, in order for these approaches to become robust methods with which reliable production can be achieved, development is still needed - in terms of machines, methods and also digital management tools. With the HofLabor we want to go through this learning curve so that others can build on it. To this end, we cooperate with a network of farmers, research institutions and machine developers.
Principles of mosaic farming
Diversity for a functioning ecosystem - in soil and farm-scale
Goal:
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Habitat and food sources for beneficial organisms within walking distance of crops
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Enabling a hunter/prey balance down to mice
Approach:
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Strip cropping at 1.77 m
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NO pesticides
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NO easily soluble fertilizer
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Where possible: Tolerate weeds
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Installation of structures (hedges, flower strips, etc.)
Mulch as a multifunctional tool
What is mulch
Mulch means biomass as a layer on the bed
Mulch is an imitation of leaf fall - established biological processes can be used
Goal:
Absorbing weather extremes, e.g. heat and heavy rainfall
Reduce weeding effort
Approach
Use of local materials, e.g. wood chips, leaves, grass clippings, green manure and straw
Where possible, material grown directly on the bed (in-situ mulch)
Widely used for potatoes and many field vegetables (celery, onions, beets, etc.)
Evergreen system as possible
Goal:
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Maintaining a high-performance soil throughout the season
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Utilizing the photosynthesis potential
Approach:
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Soil with as many roots as possible and as seamless as possible
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Plants in different growth stages
Techniques:
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cover crops, undersowing, direct sowing, seamless replacement of crops (relay intercropping), green paths
The HofLabor Project - What we are working on
Methods & Machines
We develop agricultural methods and machines to regenerate soils, manage weeds and pests without pesticides and at the same time produce efficiently.
Our developments include, for example, an RTK GPS kit for retrofitting, an adaptation of a rotary harrow for the management of root weeds and currently testing various solutions for the efficient mowing/mulching of tractor tracks in strip cultivation and undersowing
Digital tools
We develop and test various apps for planning and tracking in the field and in the team, knowledge management and marketing. We mainly use no-code tools such as Glide and Appsheet, and experiment with the possibilities of AI
Impact proof
We measure impact not only on environmental objectives but also on economic viability and test new measurement methods on soil activity and biodiversity.
To ensure economic viability, we compare our costs with available data from contribution margin calculators.
We currently mainly use spade samples for soil analyses, but would like to expand this further.
In 2024, we will also be looking for new solutions to efficiently measure biodiversity and weed development.
Pioneer Network
We work with a network of innovative farmers who believe that the future of agriculture is biodiverse and who develop and test it together with us.
In the pioneer network we also share machines.
Where we come from
The HofLabor grew out of the original SlowGrow pioneer farm - founded to develop methods to make products from regenerative agriculture available to everyone. SlowGrow is now a successful production company and operates vegetable and arable farming on around 20 hectares in the Zurich Oberland and cultivates various specialty crops with innovative mixed mulch cultures. SlowGrow markets all products itself, primarily to the catering industry in Zurich and various bakeries. And the innovation department has also grown. In order to be able to give both production and innovation more space and to start working with other pioneer farms, we founded the HofLabor as a separate organization at the end of 2021.
Our supporters
The Migros Pioneer Fund supports sustainable solutions for societal challenges with the goal of initiating systemic change towards a future-oriented society. The impact-oriented funding approach combines financial support with active funding and risk management. The fund is part of the social commitment of the Migros Group and has an annual budget of approximately CHF 15 million. The Migros Pioneer Fund is supported by companies such as Denner, Migros Bank, Migrol, migrolinio and Ex Libris. More information: www.migros-pionierfonds.ch
Seedling Foundation supports initiatives and organizations that develop and implement innovative solutions for climate protection. Nurture - Inspire - Empower is the guiding principle for its philanthropic engagement. The focus is on the food system (agro-food sector). In Switzerland and neighbouring Europe (focus on Switzerland), SEEDLING is active in the following four areas: sustainable food production, sustainable & healthy nutrition, food waste & circular economy, climate awareness & climate justice.
Other supporters:
