Farming & sustainability

Direct marketing: why it is vital for farms

A jar of jam at the farm gate looks like a nice side matter. For many farms it is the opposite: the part of the income that remains when you leave out the middlemen.

Accommodations with farm products All articles in this section
01 · The basics

What direct marketing actually is

The farm sells what it produces itself, directly to you without intermediate stations. Milk, cheese, eggs, fruit, vegetables, meat, Speck, honey, jam, juice, schnapps. At the farm, at the market, in the farm shop, at the Buschenschank (wine tavern) or to order.

The difference is not in the product, but in the price that reaches the farmer. Whoever supplies through the trade gets a fraction of what you pay at the shelf. Whoever sells directly keeps the margin – but also has to bottle, label, refrigerate, open up and explain.

That's why: Direct marketing is not a little extra income on the side. It is a second profession.

02 · Scale

The figures that matter

30.000

farms market directly

Around 28 percent of CAP-funded farms in Austria.

17.000

mainly live from it

For them, direct marketing brings more than half of the farming income.

2,6 %

total market share

That is how small the share of farm products in the overall market is.

Together, the two paint a strange picture: people like farm products but rarely buy them. It's not just about the price. Much fails beforehand on practical matters – you don't know who has what, when they're open and whether it's worth driving there for two kilos of potatoes. That is exactly where the small farm loses its turnover.

Incidentally, three quarters of the turnover happen within a radius of 50 kilometres. That makes direct marketing the most regional form of trade there is – and the most vulnerable, because it disappears with every farm that closes. Source: BMLUK factsheet

03 · On holiday

The ways you can shop at the farm

You shop on holiday anyway. If you do it at the farm, the amount stays where the work happens – and you notice at breakfast why that makes a difference.

So you don't have to search, our accommodations state what's available at the host's and what is nearby. What is ripe when is in the seasonal calendar; what you may gather yourself is under forest gold.

04 · For farms

Primary product (Urprodukt) or processed – the difference counts

For selling, what still legally counts as a primary product (Urprodukt) is important. That includes more than many think – and expressly also Alm cheese.

Everything beyond that is processed: sausage, Speck, spreads, jam, juice, schnapps, cut-up pieces. Separate rules apply – registration, hygiene, labelling. If you start with that, it's best to get proper advice once from the Chamber of Agriculture or the food inspectorate. After that it is usually less complicated than it sounds.

05 · Matching accommodations

Where you shop directly from the host

Once more, briefly

Frequently asked questions about shopping at the farm

Is shopping at the farm more expensive than at the supermarket?

By unit price often yes, when comparing quality rarely. Above all, you pay for short distances and for work that nobody else pays for. If you can't taste the difference, you've spent your money wrongly – if you can, you'll come back.

Do I have to call ahead?

Not for farm shops with opening hours; for small farms a call is polite – especially if you want larger quantities or meat. We tell you at booking what is customary where.

Is everything available all year round?

No, and that is a good thing. What comes when is in the seasonal calendar.

Can I order products for home?

Some farms ship, many don't. Ask directly during your holiday – most are happy about repeat orders and will at least send you what keeps well.

Read on

You market directly yourself?

Then letting is the same calculation: your own work, your own price, your own customer. Except this time the customer stays for a week.

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