On top of all this, there are 60 suckler and 60 dairy cows to look after. Christian Hahn sells some of the meat directly to customers (baby beef and beef).
As a farmer, Christian Hahn loves working in, with and for nature, as he puts it.
“I get to work outside and I’m my own boss, no matter how many regulations come from higher up.” These regulations do not always make his work easier, and as a farmer, pressures on the global market mean he tends to get ripped off when negotiating prices, Christian explains. While all this comes as an annoyance, working out in nature and with his animals still brings him a lot of joy.
Why buy locally?
“Prioritising seasonal products from your local region is important in the light of climate change. I don’t believe agriculture is all about conventional farming versus organic farming. There’s only one kind of agriculture, the kind which has to be able to survive in the region,” says Christian Hahn.
“The beautiful landscape of this country is entirely down to Luxembourg agriculture. If it ever went away and we had to import all our food, then, to put it bluntly, looking after this landscape with the help of state employees would be expensive. What customers choose to buy determines the diversity of the crops we grow. It’s a common criticism that we grow so much corn, but if the demand for hemp oil or sunflower seeds were to increase, for example, then that would bring about diversification in the crops we grow.”
Farmers can only protect biodiversity and insects if customers value the food from their local regions – and buy it as well!
