Hof Janus: Art meets cow

The production and sale of beef is only one pillar of the Janus farm; the art aspect also plays a role.

Between 2001 and the end of 2020, the number of farms in Germany fell by more than 40 percent. For many young people, choosing to become a farmer is no longer attractive. The majority (80 percent) of farms are family-run. For a variety of reasons, they find it difficult to get their offspring to take over. This is different for Kriste and Jörg Tillmann. When they were given the opportunity to take over a farm in Ochtrup that had become vacant in the family six years ago, they jumped at the chance and converted the formerly conventional farm into a farm for art and cows.

Each generation develops its own path. Which is good, because that is the only way something truly new can emerge. In addition to a good portion of courage and the will to change, a certain amount of luck is needed. Kriste and Jörg have a bit of everything and the ability to let their talents grow (together) for a common goal. This goal was quickly defined: the former dairy farm, which has been in the family for over 100 years, should be converted to consistent pasture farming and, without high-performance fattening, only with meadow grass and alfalfa grown on site, and with plenty of time, produce high-quality meat. A demanding task that faced a lot of opposition. "It won't work like that," was the general consensus.

Some things didn't go as planned, and for the first three years the two of them didn't earn any money from farming. The land belonging to the farm was restructured. At first there were 10 hectares of grassland and 40 hectares of arable land, but now there are only 7 hectares of arable land and the rest is grassland. You have to be able and willing to go down this path. But it was clear from the start that cattle breeding - they specialize in Aberdeen Angus - cannot and will not be the sole mainstay. Their type of breeding is too time-consuming for that. Their oxen are only allowed to live on pasture for three years before they are slaughtered sometime in the fourth year. "It doesn't make financial sense," says Kriste, laughing. But for both of them, slaughtering earlier is no longer an option since they couldn't bring themselves to process an ox into steaks and the like until it was four years old. Both were surprised by the extremely good quality of the meat, and so this experience quickly became the norm. An animal is slaughtered every six weeks, and this can now be done by shooting it on the pasture. In general, it was a long and arduous process to find a suitable and willing butcher who was able to process the 600 to 700 kilograms of slaughter weight per animal and let it hang for four weeks. "If you are doing something special that is supposed to result in a high-quality and sustainably produced product, standard just doesn't work," is Kriste and Jörg's experience. They have now been able to build and consolidate the necessary structures.

The Janus farm specializes in Aberdeen-Angus.

Kriste processes her artistic gene in characterful sculptures and objects made of ceramic.

Janus, the Two-Faced
Their sales strategy is just as consistent as their elevator philosophy. "We didn't sell large packages from the start," explains Jörg. "We found that it was often difficult for our customers to consume a whole package of meat." In their farm shop, the Angus meat should be as easy to buy as you would at the butcher's, and so there are only small packages to choose from. For soup meat, etc., they have found a convenience solution with a company run by Tim Mälzer. But the production and sale of high-quality beef is only one of the mainstays of the Janus farm. This is suggested by the name, which refers to the Roman god with the two faces looking in opposite directions. Another major role is played by the art aspect that Kriste brought to the farm. She comes from a Lithuanian family of artists and craftsmen and processes her artistic gene in characterful sculptures and ceramic objects; the farm is a source of inspiration, studio and exhibition space in equal measure. FIRE&FOOD was able to experience that the symbiosis of these seemingly opposing influences works well during a visit to Münsterland. Whether it's farm or field work, cleaning, grilling, planning and holding events on the farm or brainstorming ideas: Kriste and Jörg have no employees and do everything together and tackle every challenge as a pair. They are an impressive and energetic couple that we will certainly be hearing a lot more about. Anyone traveling in the area should definitely plan a stop to see them.

Address:
Hof Janus – Jörg and Kriste Tillmann
Westerly 103
48607 Ochtrup

For further information visit www.hof-janus.de , and the two will provide information about current dates via their social media channels.