The Lerchenhof Farm

Life arises and is sustainably maintained - at the Steinwender's for centuries.

46 hectares of grassland, farmland, and forest areas have been actively cultivated at Lerchenhof Agriculture for generations. Natural and environmentally friendly management has always been of utmost importance.

Around 1880, Lerchenhof became the main house of the Steinwender family through marriage, and the total property was divided between the two sons. At that time, Lerchenhof specialized in horse breeding and vegetable/arable farming. Both branches were well known far beyond the borders. Lerchenhof took a pioneering role and became the number one point of contact for farmers, schools, and interested parties from near and far.

In the middle of the 21st century, they slowly began to take a new path. The focus shifted to meat production and in the 70s and 80s, Lerchenhof Agriculture was converted to a fattening operation. A new butcher shop was built - today one of the few EU-certified slaughterhouses in Gailtal.

"Everything from our own production" was highly valued, and in 1992, they became founding members of the Gailtaler Speck g.g.A. Association, to which they still belong today. They began to specialize in the refinement of products, resulting in a proud and partly unique product range to this day.stolze und teilweise einzigartige Produktpalette.

The ongoing and gentle forestry was a constant accompanying process of this development. In 2007, it experienced its most valuable development through the construction of the wood chip heating system. Since then, the entire property, as well as neighboring houses, have been supplied with heat. An energy exclusively from our local forests.

From 2010 onwards, arable land regained more importance. In addition to grain cultivation for agriculture, the cultivation of grain for the Lerchenhof natural cuisine also began. The grain is dried, cleaned, and ground on the farm. This is how it is refined in breads, mueslis, and dishes of the 0-km restaurant.

Throughout all these epochs of development, the focus was never lost. The philosophy of sustainable and close-to-nature management was adhered to, as well as the motto "everything from one source."

A guiding principle by Hans Steinwender (1960) that significantly influenced and shaped this path reads: "Give the product time." It finds its application in all our tasks and is the secret recipe for our unique quality.