Our farm and the cheese factory “Bauer Freigeist” are a regional family business in the heart of the Altmark in Saxony-Anhalt, situated in a landscape protection and drinking water protection area. Springs and watercourses run through our area and shape the landscape of the floodplains. Our organic farm Becker (my parents' farm) provides the milk for the dairy "Bauer Freigeist", which is what my partner Tilmann and I have christened it. Tilmann's family comes from Quedlinburg. His father is a sculptor by profession and his mother a painter/restorer. Tilmann's four sisters all have artistic and craft backgrounds. The name of the dairy kept us very busy. Many ideas and suggestions were also thought through constructively with his family. The perspective of the Dreysse family was important in choosing a name that not only represents the farm but also thinks beyond it. Our family looks back on 8 generations of agriculture. The original farm is located in the centre of the village Wiepke, where my grandparents and us live one next to the other. Grandma and grandpa also help with the daily work and put all their heart, soul and energy into it, despite their age. They also take care of chickens, ducks, pigeons, rabbits and all the animals you’’ll find running around here... But the main work in the cowshed and with the cheese is done by the two younger generations: My parents and us. 3 generations live, fight, love, work, create and manage together. In addition, ten permanent employees help us in the barn and four in the dairy. There is a lot to do in agriculture and in processing and food production. Especially during harvest time, we have working days that sometimes last longer. But our whole team has grown together so much in the past 30 years that we master every year anew. All colleagues in the team are like family members. That's how we treat each other. We have individual wage agreements for our team above the legal minimum wage and for the families we try to adapt the working hours to their needs as much as possible. Through CrowdFarming we have had the opportunity to create two new jobs in the structurally poor region of Altmark. Your adoption through CrowdFarming helps to bring about a positive trend in regions like ours. Everything moves in a circle. With us in a cycle. The cows not only give milk, but also a valuable fertilizer. But before spreading it on the fields, we sent it to the farm's own biogas plant where cattle manure is converted into methane and electricity is generated via a motor. Our mini biogas plant runs only with cattle manure, no crops have to be burned. Thanks to this we can fully cover our electricity demand and even supply 14 more households with bio electricity. The fermentation residues are then spread as valuable fertiliser on our land and the biological material cycle closes. On the other hand, our own milk is used for cheesemaking. Quality and origin are our top priorities. Our cheese products are something special, each cheese has passed through our hands several times and is manually checked. And much more: In many parts of Europe, cheese also forms a vital part of our culture. We produce typically German and also international varieties and our cheese not only appeals to young people, but also to older generations, feeling reminded of their childhood and the regional products. In each landscape, the natural conditions of the environment have led to the development of very different cheeses. Our small village of Wiepke (250 inhabitants) is an area full of many small streams, provinding the meadows and pastures with water and thus supplying the cattle with feed. Our cowshed is surrounded by our green pastures with grazing or resting cows. The water comes from a spring area...the elves’ springs - a magical place for every hiker. You’ll also find plenty of grassland, forest, flowering bee meadows and of course agricultural land. The nearest towns are the hanseatic towns Gardelegen, Salzwedel and Stendal. Our surroundings impress with a lot of nature and peace and smaller sights - such as the Romanesque Road - and simply invite you to linger and discover... New thoughts and concerns from our customers always move us. Thus, we see it as our responsibility to concern ourselves more with the topic of environmental and climate protection. In 2020, we established an afforestation on 1.5 ha that does not produce timber, but only flower clusters for insects (quasi an insect biotope). This is surrounded by pine forest and other forest crops. Directly next to our afforestation is a game grazing area of 2 ha for wild animals. Not only the roe deer and the badger feel at home there, but also the wolf comes by regularly. This is not a fairy tale - it is life! We can observe them with a wildlife camera and care for them on site. With every cheese package you receive from us, you support a piece of nature and biotope in our region. We invest a portion of the proceeds from each cheese package in such projects.