When mountain farmer Nikolaus Lantschner began to market his free-range eggs in the 1990s, it was no easy feat. First he had to convince people of this new animal husbandry concept and the higher price that came with it. But the Eggerhof farmer’s faith in ethical husbandry and uncompromising quality would soon pay off.

Today, it would be impossible to imagine the business without the Eggerhof farm with its free-ranging chickens on an area of 1,200 metres up on sunny Reggelberg mountain, supplying free-range eggs bearing the South Tyrolean seal of quality.
“Taste and quality are really something else, of course. That convinced a lot of people, and soon we saw an increasing demand”, says Nikolaus Lantschner.

The Eggerhof chickens can roam outside every day all year long, giving them ample opportunity to peck and scratch the ground to their hearts’ content while out in the sun and the fresh air. And in the roofed sandy chicken-run, the chickens can take care of preening and enjoy their daily sand bath. “All of that impacts their well-being and, together with our fresh well water and genetically unmodified food, provides for particularly healthy and tasty eggs”, explains Nikolaus Lantschner.

From the start, the farmer has also tried to process eggs which were too small, misshapen, or brittle and therefore did not comply with the quality standards as best as possible. To that end, he joined forces with a chef friend of his to develop the idea of producing egg noodles in various flavours, which have gained a reputation for themselves even beyond the country borders.

But despite all that, Nikolaus Lantschner’s daily source of motivation at work has remained the same: “I can spend all day outdoors, I work with animals, and by producing healthy foodstuff I don’t just feed my own family but also many other people – I couldn’t imagine any other work so full of meaning.”