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Soybean consultants Peter and Kristina inspect a soybean field together with the farmer, Otmar Binder (centre). 1/2 -
The Schills are already the second generation of a farming family that grows organic soybeans near Freiburg, Germany (shown here in conversation with Stefan, a member of Taifun’s soybean team). 2/2
Partners, not just suppliers
This is our understanding of best business practices: Our primary goal is to make delicious tofu, and we will take the right path to achieve it ‒ for everyone involved. We don’t shop around for bargains and purchase soybeans from various sources. Instead, we cooperate with a group of around 170 organic farmers located in Germany, Austria and France, all of whom we know personally.
Contractually regulated cooperation gives the farmers economic security, and it gives us the great advantage of being able to fully trace our soybeans all the way back to the farmers. From propagating the seed to planting the fields to harvesting, drying and cleaning the crops: We are involved in the entire process and can influence the quality of the soybeans.
Trust and reliability
We’ve been cooperating with some farmers for 25 years already. Our relationship has evolved into more than just a contractual partnership: We hold joint seminars on organic soybean cultivation. Together we go on excursions to meet soybean processors and cultivators elsewhere in Germany and Europe. And naturally, we visit the farmers during the vegetation period. For us, it’s a beautiful experience to not only see the beans as they arrive in Freiburg, but also the fields, the pale purple blossoms of the soybean plants, and the soil on which they grow.
For both partners, our contract farming agreement means trust. And reliance on each other to deliver what we promise. That goes for the quality of the soybeans as well as for pricing: We know the amount of work it takes to cultivate soybeans, and we are aware that many farming operations are under pressure.
Real value and fair prices
All of these things bring us one step closer to fulfilling the mission of our work. Naturally, we want to make delicious tofu. And while doing so, we also want to promote sustainable and viable organic agriculture. Because we are convinced that the future lies in the diversity of family-operated farms.
That is who we want to work with, and who we want to support: through purchasing groups for expensive machines; through knowledge sharing; and sometimes simply through encouraging words if a harvest didn’t turn out as hoped.
The world does not belong to big corporations, even though it sometimes seems like it. But only when we small and mid-size operations work together and share our achievements can we make progress.
