Field Notes: Tasting Agroforestry
One early spring evening in Vienna, I tasted agroforestry. But it wasn’t just a tasting – it was a glimpse into a farming system as old as it is new. Here's my short field report and my tasting notes.
Agroforestry is still something of a rarity in Austria. Years ago, I visited a farm already experimenting with the idea – Biohof Chris & Laura in Leonding, where trees were growing alongside crops, animals wandered through orchards, and the system worked in gentle loops. It stayed with me.
Then, one early spring evening in Vienna, at one of FiBL’s legendary tastings, the same idea resurfaced – not just as theory, but as flavour. A table full of textures, stories, and growers. And it became clear: agroforestry is growing – slowly, diversely, and in every direction. Most importantly: it tastes really good. Here’s what I took away from the FiBL tasting on agroforestry:
What is agroforestry, exactly?
Agroforestry brings trees back to the field. It might sound simple, but it’s a complex system, rooted in ancient agricultural traditions and surprisingly relevant to the challenges we face today.
Instead of monocultures, multilayered landscapes emerge: fruit trees, nut trees or woody crops for timber and energy grow in the upper levels. Below them flourish field crops, berries, vegetables – or grazing animals. Plants access different layers of the soil, support each other rather than compete, and together create a stable microclimate.
Trees reduce wind, retain moisture, and offer shade against heat. Especially in times of extreme weather – drought, heavy rain, heatwaves – agroforestry creates a resilient farming system that offers more than just yield: it regenerates.
But agroforestry takes time. While grain is harvested annually, fruit and nut trees often take seven to ten years to bear their first crops. Timber or energy crops may take decades. It’s farming that thinks in lifetimes.
And much is still evolving: How can farmers harvest efficiently between rows of trees? Which varieties work best in which climates? And above all: how do you make a product visible when it comes straight out of a living ecosystem?
This is where ARGE Agroforst is taking an important step – with its own certification system launching in May 2025. It aims to make agroforestry products recognisable – just as the organic label once helped to spotlight the pioneers of ecological agriculture.
Curious to learn more? Visit ARGE Agroforst’s website here.
What I learned at the FiBL tasting
Agroforestry might sound like the future – but it’s actually ancient. This way of working the land has accompanied us for millennia (I once spoke with forest ecologist Artur Cisar-Erlach about the relationship between woodland and food. He told me that grapes were once naturally found in floodplain forests.). In earlier times, it was common practice to keep animals under trees, grow different crops on the same field, and rotate planting over long cycles.
That evening, I also saw orchard meadows (“Streuobstwiesen”) through a new lens. They are, in essence, traditional forms of agroforestry: an apple tree in a meadow, with sheep grazing below or a hay meadow surrounding it – it doesn’t get more agroforestry than that. In Lower Austria’s Mostviertel, where I grew up, you can still find plenty of these systems.
Another fascinating insight: the case of Waldstaude rye. I experienced this rye – “Waldstauderoggen” in German – in the field during a visit to Martin Allram for Slow Food. I hadn’t realised the rye actually needs grazing to thrive – a process known as the “browsing effect”, which encourages stronger regrowth the following year. Fascinating how plant and animal work together like that.
What stuck with me most: Climate change is real. But it doesn’t mean we have to give in. On the contrary – with creativity, knowledge and curiosity, much can be adapted. Whether it’s olives in the Marchfeld, strawberries growing in the dappled shade of walnut trees, or peanuts in the Weinviertel – I find it deeply inspiring how diverse and experimental many farms in Austria already are.
Tasting Notes
Beerenhunger – organic strawberry nectar grown in the shade of walnut trees
Christian Weinhub cultivates strawberries – and walnut trees – on his farm in Lower Austria’s Hollabrunn district. The real magic lies in the system in between: a living space that provides shade, alters the microclimate, and strengthens plant resilience. The strawberries stay fresh longer, don’t suffer sunburn, and need less watering – a decisive advantage as heat and drought become more common. The resulting nectar is concentrated and extremely deep in flavour. Learn more.
Ja! Natürlich – apple-pear juice from orchard meadows
What’s inside a juice that looks like any other on the shelf – but represents a quiet agricultural revolution? This cloudy, organic apple-pear juice comes not from plantations, but from traditional orchard meadows across Austria. Behind it lies a surprisingly complex system: thousands of organic farmers contribute tiny harvests – sometimes just 10 or 20 kilos – following strict criteria. No hail nets, no espalier trees, no roofing. Farmers simply report how many kilos they can provide and when. Only fruit from open-grown trees is accepted. Harvests follow meticulously planned routes, and the juice is pressed centrally – aiming for a consistent flavour throughout the year. The result? A juice that tastes just like late summer: full, fruity, and slightly tart. Learn more.
Nussland – organic walnuts from meadows and private gardens
Organic Austrian walnuts? Easier said than done. The trees are there – in the Mostviertel, the Waldviertel, gardens and hedgerows – but few people still gather the nuts, and even fewer enjoy cracking them open. I know the feeling all too well – from our own garden. Once the nuts are picked (“geklaubt”) and dried, the real work begins. Nussland is changing that. With 17 collection points across Austria, their own machinery for cracking and sorting, and a system that turns scattered yields into a high-quality product. The walnuts are aromatic, not oily – and have that faint bitterness that gives them depth. Learn more.
Neuland – organic peanuts from the Weinviertel
The fact that peanuts grow in Austria came as a surprise to many that evening – and still amazes me, even though I visited the farm three years ago while working for Niederösterreich Werbung. Brothers Roman and Stefan Romstorfer cultivate organic peanuts on 12 hectares in the Weinviertel – a pioneering effort shaped by trial and error. When to sow? When to harvest? And how to roast? Austria doesn’t yet have a dedicated peanut roastery – so the nuts are sent to Switzerland for processing. What comes back is small but intense: nutty, with a pleasantly crumbly texture. Learn more.
D’Kaestnklauba – chestnuts from Burgenland
In Austria’s Mittelburgenland region, chestnut trees grow older than most people around them – some up to 350 years. The “Kaestnklauba” association is dedicated to preserving these trees and reviving the sweet chestnut as a cultivated crop.
The chestnuts are harvested by hand, peeled, and processed into flour, purée or left whole. A special technique allows the shells to be removed cleanly without losing flavour. The chestnuts we tasted were soft, almost creamy, with a gentle sweetness. Learn more.
Apfelhuhn – organic eggs from orchard chickens
The “apple chickens” roam orchard fields in southeastern Styria – technically owned by apple growers, but the chickens are very much part of the landscape. Small mobile coops rotate through the orchards, giving retired laying hens a second career. They lay fewer eggs, but do so steadily, calmly – and on a very different diet. In summer, they feed on what the orchard offers: insects drawn to fallen fruit, grasses, blossoms. In winter, they receive feed. The result: deep dark yellow, almost orange yolks and a rich, distinctive flavour. The Apfelhuhn website will be available soon.
Waldstaudekornbrot – Waldstaude rye bread
“Waldstauderoggen” (or “Waldstaudekorn”) is a heritage rye. It grows slowly and is harvested late – but what’s most surprising is that it actually needs grazing. If animals eat most of it in the first year, the rye comes back stronger in the second. The bread itself by bakery Joseph is a small masterpiece: long-fermented sourdough, slightly nutty flavour, chewy crust, moist crumb. Joseph adds apple purée to balance the sourness.
Bio Hof Spezialitäten – lamb sausage from brown mountain sheeps
Martina Follner and Paul Axmann practise small-scale agroforestry. Their “Dünne Liesl” – an organic lamb sausage made from 70% sheep and 30% organic pork fat – is the delicious result of a much bigger system. Brown mountain sheep graze the orchard meadows, shelter under pear trees, and use the hedgerows. They eat windfall fruit that would otherwise rot, and in return, provide wool and meat. The wool is used as fertiliser, in greenhouses, or processed into pellets. The sausage was savoury, tasted clean, with a lovely hint of salt. Learn more.
Weingut Diwald – Gemischter Satz and sheep among the vines
Martin Diwald’s vineyard is alive – not only with yeasts and microbes, but with sheep. For the past two years, he’s let Breton mountain sheep graze between his vines. They’re small, don’t overgraze, and improve soil structure: more life, better texture, less erosion. The Diwald winery in the Wagram region is no newcomer to sustainable farming – it’s Austria’s oldest organic winery – organic since 1976. The wine – a “Gemischter Satz”, a traditional Austrian field blend – is powerful yet elegant. Learn more.
Want to dive deeper?
If you’d like to learn more about agroforestry, you’ll find further reading, films, and studies on the ARGE Agroforst website.