MYRTHA ZIEROCK
Myrtha Zierock reinvents agriculture with her start-up in the vineyard
The basis for good food is good products. Growing these in South Tyrol comes up against natural limits due to the regional conditions. Myrtha Zierock makes a virtue out of the misery of the rare terrain. Like Norbert Niederkofler, she receives the decisive impulse for this from afar. During her studies in Canada, she learns that the vegetation and growth phases there are very short and must be used to the maximum.
Back in South Tyrol, she begins to use the narrow areas between the vines and grows salad and vegetables there. This proves to be costly and time-intensive, but yields products of first-class quality. To market her produce, she sets up a farm market and sells her produce directly to numerous chefs. In dialogue with customers, she improves and refines her range of products, which includes chard, Asian salads, carrots, tomatoes, fennel, zucchinis and herbs.
After a short time the demand increases. Since the capacities are limited, Myrtha Zierock takes a new way also here. Instead of adopting the conventional mechanisms and delivering the goods over long distances, she exports the method and encourages interested parties in other regions to adapt their experience.
“Myrtha Zierock”, as the jury justified the awarding of the prize, ” She is the impulse generator of a new, sustainable agriculture with her start-up in the vineyard,”. Her concept is forward-looking: she consistently focuses on quality, modernizes traditional methods and experiences and initiates the network of sustainable agriculture through her export.