When a trained agricultural machinery mechanic takes over his parents’ farm, it comes as no surprise that he pays particular attention to the agricultural fleet. Especially when this has accumulated over the course of four generations. Markus Kreilinger took over the farm from his parents Johann and Rosemarie just two years ago. And with the farm came not only 23 hectares of arable land, but also a number of machines. Two of the seven tractors still in use are real old-timers: the oldest, an Eicher Mammut built in 1965, even dates back to Kreilinger’s grandfather’s generation. “It’s a very special Bulldog that I look after and care for,” Kreilinger reveals. The Eicher is not only used for field work: the farmer also takes it out for a drive. Perhaps even to the regulars’ table of Bavarian Eicher drivers, which Kreilinger chairs.
Machine love
And that is by no means all the equipment available to the Kreilinger family: There are also six seed drills, milling machines and three trailers, which Markus Kreilinger looks after as lovingly as the crops in the fields. As a trained agricultural machinery mechanic, he doesn’t just repair the machines: he occasionally takes them completely apart and reassembles them. Sometimes they are even lubricated, sandblasted and repainted. Kreilinger: “It fills me with pride and is also important to me to work with clean and good-looking equipment. Even our tractors, which are over 20 years old, don’t show their age.” He completely restored the International Harvester 433 with over 15,000 operating hours during the winter. The tractor is still in daily use!
Kreilinger builds what is not available in the sacred machine halls himself. For example, equipment for growing shallots, which he specializes in. A net and film laying device or a pure fertilizer device, which he developed and built himself in his spare time – whenever he is not busy with day-to-day business: “We work seven days a week for eleven months with full commitment. In the quieter months of January, we service and maintain the machines, experiment and tinker and plant our modern greenhouse.”
Four generations of vegetables
The Kreilingers are now the fourth generation to run the farm at Garchinger Weg 9 in Hallbergmoos. It all started with great-grandfather Josef, who leased the fields before his son Johann bought them and set up his own farm in Grünecker Straße in 1956. Even back then, Johann and his wife Maria were already supplying Munich retail stores and nurseries. They also gave birth to two children, Marianne and Johann Junior. Together with his wife Rosmarie, Johann Junior still runs the farm today, where he and his son Markus are primarily responsible for sowing, tending and harvesting the 56 crops grown here. These include potatoes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, pumpkin, cucumbers, lettuce, leeks and, most recently, shallots, watermelons, sweet potatoes and ginger. He has come a long way from the part-time vegetable trade that his parents initially ran to his main job, where he is not only important as a supplier of food, but also at four weekly markets in Munich. The quality produce from Kreilinger Hof is in great demand. Especially in terms of freshness, sustainability and direct sales, which Johann and Rosmarie still attach particular importance to today. According to Rosmarie, the goods must be presented correctly: “That’s very important to me. You buy with your eyes before the vegetables reach your plate! I’m happy when customers tell me that the quality is good and everything tastes good.”
Investing in the future
Just two years ago, the Kreilingers built a second farm with a hall, as well as a super-modern greenhouse equipped with all the technical refinements. These investments are intended to guarantee a stable customer supply even in winter. It is clear what all this means for Markus Kreilinger and his parents: their day starts at three in the morning with the delivery and sale of their own vegetables to the wholesale market in Munich and the purchase of fruit varieties to be included in their own market. Vacations are out of the question. The Kreilingers can live with this as long as the product and customer satisfaction are right and one of their most important wishes for the future is fulfilled: “That agriculture is given a higher status again and that people appreciate what we do to bring quality to their plates.”
Image material: © Munich Airport Business Park, photo Eva Oestereich
Poster © Munich Airport Business Park, picture&more Iris Besemer
