Alpine Agriculture and Alpine Cuisine

Did you know that around 75 % of Austria’s alpine milk comes from Tirol? Over 50 % of Tirol’s dairy cows spend their summers grazing on one of over 2000 alpine farms. Compared to the rest of Austria, Tirol has over 120,000 hectares of alpine pastureland, almost twice as much as second-placed Salzburg.

Alpine farming is one of the most sustainable forms of food production, both in terms of resource use and animal welfare. When marketed correctly, high-quality alpine products benefit the entire value-adding process and provide a consolidating boost to the whole region. Guests and locals alike appreciate the harmonious and still authentic farming system. It is therefore particularly important from an ecological and economic point of view to support and preserve these alpine farms.
Keeping animals on alpine farms and feeding them with fresh grass and delicious herbs, as well as allowing them to graze freely on mountain pastures, enables them to grow into robust and healthy animals. This is also reflected, of course, in the unique quality of the milk and meat.
Alpine dairymen and women use traditional methods to process fresh milk into butter, cheese, etc. directly on the mountain farms.

The Almleben project aims to create incremental value and improved profitability of alpine farms through quality assurance and product marketing.

Quality in Tirol

Quality products are produced and monitored according to the very highest standards. However, not all products are available all year round. The range of regional and sustainable products is constantly adapted to the season.
The “Qualität Tirol” hallmark was created to be awarded to foodstuffs that originate from regional and small-scale farming enterprises and have been produced and processed 100% in Tirol.

Animal welfare standards, careful use of resources and the preservation of traditional values and practises, as well as innovative regional and seasonal cuisine are fundamental principles that position Tirol as a pioneer in sustainable production.

This approach to alpine agriculture and the high-quality standards in food production and processing are a worldwide “Best Practice” for sustainable and resource-saving methods, in an industry where this cannot be taken for granted.
Innovation meets tradition here and creates opportunities for research and science in this domain.

Many schools and degree programmes with an agricultural focus in Tirol bear witness to this impact. For example, values such as regionality and a sustainable approach to our environment are both practiced and taught at Rotholz Agricultural College.

Various macro- and micro-trends have been observed during research carried out by Agrarmarketing Tirol and product innovations tested together with Standortagentur Tirol -Tirol Business Promotion Agency and the Landwirtschaftskammer – Tirolean Chamber of Agriculture. A lively network is therefore in place, in addition to a well-developed infrastructure in the food production and processing sector. One that is certainly on par with its international counterparts.