Current agricultural systems, whether conventional or organic, rely on practices that damage soil health, reduce biodiversity, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Intensive farming methods, the use of synthetic and animal-based fertilizers, and pesticides have led to soil degradation, loss of biodiversity, and water pollution.  Food production and environmental goals thus seem to often be in conflict, and agriculture appears to lack scalable and ecosystem-friendly solutions.

  
HofLabor grew from its co-founders’ broad scientific and technical expertise in a pioneering approach called mosaic farming. By combining scientifically validated approaches - such as strip cropping, controlled traffic farming, and mulching - into a unified system, mosaic farming promises to improve soil fertility, significantly increase biodiversity and offer resilience of production in the face of climate change. It also addresses soil emissions and forgoes pesticides and fertilizer, by building a functional ecosystem in and above the soil.  

HofLabor aims to propagate mosaic farming and make this approach technically and economically scalable as well as easily accessible to farmers. HofLabor’s innovations include developing and testing new farming methods, machinery, and digital tools for farm management. In a further development, they are setting up a 40-hectare demonstration farm in Adlisberg (Zurich) to showcase mosaic farming to farmers and the wider public.