Welcome to Harrer Goat Farm

Today, we have a very special farm visit for you: the Harrer Goat Farm in the heart of Styria. Join us as we travel to Passail, near Graz, where Elisabeth Harrer, together with her husband Hans and their four children, operates a goat farm with 70 dairy goats and up to 140 kids.

The Harrer Goat Farm was recently awarded the title of "Farm of the Year" in Styria—one of many accolades they have received. Their cheese specialties, made from their high-quality goat’s milk, were recently recognized at the prestigious World Cheese Awards, winning silver and bronze.

But before we dive into their award-winning products, let’s take a closer look at the history of the Harrer Goat Farm. Unlike many of our farmers, who have been running their farms for generations, the Harrer family only started their agricultural journey two decades ago. Both Elisabeth and Hans come from farming backgrounds, but their family farms were passed down to their siblings. In 1996, they made the bold decision to establish a farm of their own.

In the early years, Elisabeth and Hans focused on sheep farming, feeding their livestock with floor-dried hay from 1996 to 2017. To become more independent from the weather, they invested in an HSR round bale drying system for 28 hay bales in 2017.

In 2021, they made the transition from sheep farming to a dairy goat operation. The driving force behind this shift was Almenland Stollenkäse, a local cheesemaker looking for a steady supplier of goat’s milk. To meet the required milk production, the Harrer family built a second barn and acquired another HSR round bale drying system.

Today, the Harrer family produces 200 liters of goat’s milk daily from their 72 Saanen goats. The milk is delivered twice a week to the cheese dairy. The goats are fed high-quality hay three times a day, sourced from the 15 hectares of grassland the family manages. Each year, they produce around 400 hay bales, each with a diameter of 140 cm, which are dried using their two HSR round bale drying systems, equipped with 22 and 14 outlets.

"A drying time of just 24 hours was a must for us to maintain top hay quality," Hans recalls. During peak harvest times, the Harrer family maximizes their system by double-stacking the 14-outlet drying unit, allowing them to dry up to 50 hay bales simultaneously.

Their exceptional milk yield of over 1,000 liters per goat (with an exclusive hay diet) and the outstanding quality of their cheese products highlight the dedication and passion of the Harrer family. We believe their title as "Farm of the Year" is well deserved, and we are proud to support farms like theirs in achieving optimal hay drying solutions.

If you’re interested in experiencing the Harrer Goat Farm firsthand, learning about their work and lifestyle, and tasting their award-winning cheese specialties, we invite you to visit www.ziegen-harrer.at to schedule a tour. Elisabeth offers guided tours of their showcase farm, concluding with a tasting of their homemade products, including goat cheese, goat liver pâté, delicious bread, and goat sausages. Experience an unforgettable journey into sustainability, nature, and culinary delight—we highly recommend it!

We’ve also recorded a video (in German language only) of our visit to the Harrer Goat Farm, where Hans shares valuable tips on haymaking and discusses the challenges of this year’s hay season. Due to the rainy months of May and June, the first hay cut was delayed by an entire four weeks.