Context

Soil health and sustainable soil use are becoming increasingly important to producing regional, high-quality products. The soil's capacity to store carbon and water positively impacts nature and the climate. The healthier, looser and livelier the agricultural land is, the less fertiliser is needed. This also increases crop yields.

Central to the initiation of the project was the pressure in agriculture to counteract soil sealing. If farmers know how to achieve and maintain well-aerated and healthy soil, they can not only save on pesticides and fertilisers, but also enable their soil to cope better with extreme weather situations.

The lack of inexpensive and easy-to-use analysis tools for farmers created the need for this project, and the idea of the Bodenkoffer came from an exchange among regional LEADER representatives, local stakeholders (the Chamber of Agriculture, farmers, the Boden.Wasser.Schutz.Beratung - Soil and water protection advice bureau, the AGRAR-EN company, and the final initiator, Ferdinand Tiefnig.

Objectives

The Bodenkoffer project’s main aim was to create a ten-step method for a meaningful soil assessment, highlighting biological, physical and chemical aspects, and to enable farmers to take appropriate measures to create good soil conditions.

More generally, it was a priority to have farmers engaging intensively with their soil – the earth on which they stand. They need to feel, taste and smell it and thus be able to choose the best measures for dealing with it.

The project was also looking to help farmers make connections, for example, how long it takes for humus to form and how important it is that it is not blown or washed away by drought or heavy rainfall.

Activities

Before the start of the project, initial discussions were held in 2018 between the LEADER office, local stakeholders (farmers, the Chamber of Agriculture and Boden.Wasser.Schutz.Beratung) and the project’s initiator, Ferdinand Tiefnig. These were held as a result of severe weather conditions and their impact on the soil. A meeting was then arranged with Norbert Ecker, CEO of the AGRAR-EN agricultural project management company, in which the idea of a toolbox with everything a farmer needs to assess their own soil in a low-threshold manner was spontaneously developed.

The project team then developed the Bodenkoffer soil suitcase in conjunction with the regional LEADER office. It was launched at the end of February 2020, along with explanations of the ten analysis locations. DIY videos were also produced for the project website.

A Bodenkoffer was made available to each of the 37 member municipalities in the region, and there is now a farmer with a soil suitcase in each of the municipalities. Other interested parties can borrow the suitcase for a small fee.

Local farmers' associations were brought on board, with a three-hour training session run by a soil practitioner on how to carry out the ten-step programme of the soil suitcase. An instruction booklet was also developed with a description of the stations. The project also began cooperating on training courses for soil internships at the Burgkirchen Agricultural School. These involved soil days being organised with high-ranking speakers.

Throughout the project, continuous contact was maintained with farmers to obtain their feedback, experiences, further needs and suggestions for innovations. By 2024, the Bodenkoffer soil suitcase had been expanded by three further analysis stations, and is now used in conjunction with the Vanhoof profile spade, which was specially designed for soil analysis.

Gender equality

In the course of the project, different women played a central role. Mrs Ulrike Kappacher was and is in charge of brainstorming, didactic development and administration. She was also the person who created the app and application-booklet.

Mrs Elisabeth Murauer is also significantly involved in the success of Bodenkoffer, to which she has contributed her enormous expertise in various contexts through her studies at BOKU-University in Vienna and her consulting work at Boden.Wasser.Schutz. She was significantly involved in the development of the texts for the application booklet and the app, and also conducts most of the training sessions for the soil multipliers.

There are also many women among the regular users of the Bodenkoffer.

Generational Renewal

Bodenkoffer cooperates with universities and schools. In many Austrian agricultural schools, it is already an integral part of the curriculum, with students allowed to take it home with them to try out on their own fields and familiarise themselves with it. Bodenkoffer is also already being used in lessons internationally, for example at the Burghausen University Campus in Germany. This enables young people to actively engage with soils, which makes a key contribution to raising awareness of soil health.

Main Results

In environmental terms, the Bodenkoffer soil suitcases help promote healthy soils and thus bind more CO2, contributing to soil protection. Educationally, they are now being used in schools, while there are ongoing training courses for farmers.

Financially, the Bodenkoffer reduces expenses for fertilisers and pesticides, which benefits agricultural businesses.

The project also led to a comprehensive exchange with other regions. The regional added value for the project was able to be transferred, and is now also developing on a supra-regional level.

The Bodenkoffer soil suitcases have been well received internationally, and there are now 320 of them in use in Austria, Bavaria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and even as far afield as El Salvador. This enables farmers in numerous different regions to analyse and protect their soils.

Key lessons

It was only through good networking that the development of the Bodenkoffer could begin. The four main stakeholders that developed the Bodenkoffer (two consultants, a soil researcher, and the LAG manager of the LEADER region) come from three different Upper Austrian districts and have four different backgrounds and educational pathways, which was the perfect start for developing this unique concept.

It was also important to take a low-threshold approach. This, combined with the digital recording of the results, triggers both inspiration and curiosity among users.