"Farmers have always been the architects of the landscape. Not only must they grow food for their generation, but they also have to pass on to the next generation the land they have been entrusted with, intact and in even better condition."
(F. T. Wahlen, former director of the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture and former President of the Swiss Confederation)
The Ipiranga Estate operates under this maxim. What it means is that rigidly adhered to organic methods of cultivation have to be put in place to safeguard the quality of the soil, plants and air for man and animals. The consequence is that no use may be made of any mineral-based fertiliser or of any kind of agrochemical - all pesticides, insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are banned from the estate. This has been the case, with no hint of a compromise, since the end of 1992 when the new regime was initiated.
We are just as uncompromising about our social responsibilities in respect of those living and working on the estate. Find out more about this here.