On-farm innovation for regenerative mosaic farming
Mosaic farming
Making environmental goals compatible with food production
Today, nature conservation and food production are unfortunately often at odds. Environmental goals relating to air, water and soil pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change are systematically missed.
With regenerative mosaic farming, we aim to develop a new system that can resolve this conflict. Using a combination of controlled traffic farming, diverse strip cropping, soil-conserving cultivation, and large-scale mulching systems, we currently produce vegetables, grains, and potatoes without fertilizers or pesticides on over 20 hectares.
Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF)
Every tractor pass compacts the soil. That's why all our machines use GPS to navigate fixed lanes (Controlled Traffic Farming). This leaves 70% of the area untouched. Soil life can regenerate and build soil structure. Water is absorbed more effectively, plants can freely expand their roots and find symbiotic partners, water, and nutrients. This also increases yields.
Diverse strip cultivation
Uniform fields offer little habitat. Many species disappear, while pests can easily spread. With strip cropping and the promotion of diverse field flora, we create a functional ecosystem in the field. Animals such as insects and spiders find food and shelter there year-round. This diversity helps to naturally regulate pests and diseases.
Root penetration and mulch
Through green manure, undersowing, and seamless crop rotation, we ensure the soil is continuously penetrated by roots. This keeps the soil life active and diverse. We also mimic leaf fall with mulch, a layer of materials such as hay or grass clippings. This protects the soil from drying out and heavy rain, suppresses weeds, and nourishes the soil organisms.
No fertilizers or pesticides
Controlled traffic farming and permanently covered soil preserve soil structure and soil life. This creates a functioning ecosystem of microorganisms, fungi, insects, and soil fauna. Diseases and pests are not controlled chemically, but rather limited through ecological regulation. Without pesticides, beneficial and antagonistic organisms can establish themselves. We deliberately avoid readily soluble fertilizers. Nutrients are provided within the system through symbiotic relationships, legumes, mulch, and other biomass. Weeds are controlled mechanically.
HofLabor - our farm lab
Innovation for the scalability of mosaic farming
Our approaches aren't new, and many farmers are experimenting with strip cropping, green manure, soil-conserving cultivation, mulching, and biodiversity elements. However, for these approaches to become robust methods that enable reliable production, further development is needed – in machinery, methods, and digital management tools. With our organization "HofLabor", tranlating to "Farm Lab", we aim to navigate this learning curve so that others can build upon it. To this end, we are collaborating with a network of farmers, research institutions, and machinery developers.
What we are working on
Methods & Machines
We develop agricultural methods and machinery that regenerate soils, manage weeds and pests without pesticides, and enable efficient production. Our projects include an RTK-GPS retrofit kit, a modified rotary harrow for controlling perennial weeds, and new machines for efficient mowing and mulching in strip cropping and undersown crops.
Digital tools
We develop and test various apps for field planning, crop and machine tracking, knowledge management, and marketing. We primarily use no-code tools like Glide and AppSheet and experiment with the possibilities of AI.
Pioneer network
We are building a network of innovative farmers who believe that the future of agriculture is biodiverse, and who will develop and test these technologies together with us. Within this pioneering network, we also share machinery.
Impact Assessment
We measure our impact not only against environmental targets but also against economic feasibility. To this end, we compare our costs with available data from contribution margin calculators. We assess soil quality primarily through spade samples. Together with partners such as ETH Zurich, Agroscope, and FiBL, we are also testing new methods for monitoring soil activity, biodiversity, and weed development.
Demonstration farm on Adlisberg
Since 2024, we have been leasing a farm covering 40 ha from the city of Zurich. A demonstration farm is being developed right next to the Dolder, on the Adlisberg. Here, mosaic farming will be made tangible for farmers, restaurateurs, researchers, and the public. Through guided tours and events, we are creating a space for knowledge sharing and the collaborative development of the concept.
HofLabor at
10vor10 "Die Idee"
On July 25, 2025, HofLabor was featured on SRF's "10vor10" program. Click here for the video and the accompanying blog post "HofLabor tinkers with the field of the future" .
@hoflabor
HofLabor
Seedling Foundation supports initiatives and organizations that develop and implement innovative solutions for climate protection. Nurture - Inspire - Empower is the guiding principle for its philanthropic engagement. The focus is on the food system (agro-food sector). In Switzerland and neighbouring Europe (focus on Switzerland), SEEDLING is active in the following four areas: sustainable food production, sustainable & healthy nutrition, food waste & circular economy, climate awareness & climate justice.
Founded in 2020 by Thomas Schmidheiny and his four children, Fourfold consolidates the family's diverse philanthropic efforts and realizes their long-term vision of a healthy and equitable world that respects all forms of life. Fourfold is committed to protecting the valuable resources of our planet and the right of all people to a dignified, prosperous, and fulfilling life. The foundation empowers individuals and communities by providing access to education, entrepreneurial opportunities, scientific solutions, and movement-building geared towards advancing sustainability.
KlimUp is a funding programme of the City of Zurich. It supports start-ups and non-profit organisations (NPOs) that contribute to the city's climate protection goals or the environmental goal of intelligent resource use.
The Leopold Bachmann Foundation's vision is a world in which all people have the opportunity to acquire knowledge and develop their skills. The foundation aims to provide people, regardless of their background, with a secure livelihood and source of income, enabling them to shape their future successfully and make a valuable contribution to their communities. To this end, it supports organizations and companies in the fields of education, innovative entrepreneurship, and agroecology, together with a global network of partners. Learn more: https://lb-foundation.ch
The Migros Pioneer Fund supports sustainable solutions for societal challenges with the goal of initiating systemic change towards a future-oriented society. The impact-oriented funding approach combines financial support with active funding and risk management. The fund is part of the social commitment of the Migros Group and has an annual budget of approximately CHF 15 million. The Migros Pioneer Fund is supported by companies such as Denner, Migros Bank, Migrol, migrolinio and Ex Libris. More information: www.migros-pionierfonds.ch
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