{"id":130315,"date":"2023-10-26T07:47:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T05:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/archives\/130315"},"modified":"2025-07-04T12:18:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T10:18:08","slug":"haff-tempels-a-working-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/2023\/10\/26\/haff-tempels-a-working-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Haff Tempels – A working farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Haff Tempels farm is one of the largest in the Minett region. In Oberkorn, in the commune of Differdange, Guy Tempels produces meat, cereals, eggs and\u2026 pumpkins!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tempels farm begins where the town of Differdange ends. Whichever way you look and as far as the eye can see, you are now on Tempels land. When we ask Guy, the farm’s owner, if he’s the biggest landowner in this Terres Rouges town, alongside ArcelorMittal, he smiles humbly: “Possibly…”\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, exactly what does Guy Tempels do with his 225 hectares of land? “There are 120 hectares of crops and 105 hectares of meadows,”\u009d<\/em> explains the farmer, who is also a member of Differdange town council. Elected as a councillor on 11 June, he gave up his seat to another candidate on the list: “I’m staying on at the council, but not as a councillor. I simply don’t have the time to do the job properly, what with everything I’ve already got to do on the farm…”\u009d<\/em> And we believe him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 1939<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This farm, which his grandfather took on in 1939, is near enough a closed-cycle farm, with very few hands on deck. “We’ve got 100 cows that give birth to around 90 calves a year. We only keep Charolais sucklers now. All the male calves are sold to producers in Luxembourg, who fatten them up and then sell them on for their meat. You’ll find the meat in Cactus shops and restaurants, for example. There are breeders and there are fatteners; we’re breeders,”\u009d <\/em>he says. Most of the cattle feed is also produced on the farm: hay, cereals, peas etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the farming here is sustainable, it is not, however, organic: “But we do follow a set of strict criteria,”\u009d <\/em>says Guy Tempels. The farm is certified by nature protection association ‘Natur Gen\u00e9issen’, an initiative that encourages active protection of nature, in collaboration with a number of eco-conscious farmers and various inter-municipal nature conservation associations (SICONA) across Luxembourg. “Our animals are fed GMO-free feed, and wherever possible from the farm’s own produce.”\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n