Farm stays provide vital income for Upper Austrian farmers

Farm holidays have become an important source of additional income for many of the 238 farms in Upper Austria that host visitors, ORF reports. For 50 years, farmers in the region have offered guests the chance to experience agricultural life for several days or weeks.

“Without renting out rooms, we would not be able to maintain the farm either,” said Sabine Ablinger, a farmer from Weyregg on Lake Attersee. She and her husband began hosting holiday guests at their farm nearly five years ago after deciding they needed to diversify their operation.

“It would have become difficult with production alone,” Ablinger said.

Petra Weilguny, a representative and managing director of the farm holiday division at the Upper Austria Chamber of Agriculture, said the model was a crucial source of income for many small farms. In some cases, it accounts for up to 40 percent of total earnings.

Guests can help milk cows, ride on tractors and feed rabbits and chickens. For many children, the stays also provide their first direct contact with cows, hens, sheep and pigs.

Veronika Stockreiter, who runs an organic farm in Spital am Pyhrn, said many children initially kept their distance from the animals. “That usually changes relatively quickly, after a week at the latest,” she said.

Visitors are drawn to the opportunity to spend time in nature with less bustle than at a hotel. Christopher Broekman, a guest from Germany who has spent five years taking farm holidays with his wife, said the experience offered more freedom and more opportunities to be outdoors.

Demand remained strong throughout the summer holidays, with almost all of Upper Austria’s farm accommodation businesses fully booked. Most guests came from Germany and Austria, although Stockreiter said her farm had recently also hosted visitors from Israel.