BLOME

SHORT DESCRIPTION: Hof Blome is located close to the city centre of Bochum in Metropolis Ruhr, which is a former coal mining and steel production area. It is a commercial farm, which is currently increasingly adjusting their business to the urban context. The property and 60 ha of farmland are all owned by the farm. The farm owner works full-time with occasional support from family members. The business adjustments to the urban environment are rather new, because for a long time the owned farmland size of 60 ha left no need to adapt the business model. Now, the farm sees the necessity but also advantages to adjust to the city

KEY ACTIVITIES: The 60 hectares of farmland are cultivated conventionally. The most important products include wheat, barley and rapeseed, meadows and pastures, 400 pigs (kept animal-friendly on straw) and goose. These products are predominantly not for the local market but traded via regional associations and cooperatives to the regular market. Additionally, Blome started to offer “rent-a-field” with external support of franchise company “Meine Ernte” on 0.5 ha. About 30 different types of vegetables and herbs as well as some ornamental plants grow here. This field is divided in small plots, which are rented to interested city dwellers for seasonal use. The farmer’s family also thinks of starting direct marketing to create win-win situations by offering gardening plots on the one hand and by offering own products on-farm on the other hand. This combination of offering gardening plots and direct marketing in an on-farm shop are commonly used.

RELEVANT DIMENSION: Rent-a-field” concept; farm enterprise; starting to diversify, first step: “rent-a-field”; professional farm in Bochum: pig production, crop production, grassland;

BUSINESS MODELS: Rent-a-field: Shared economy (social inclusion, participation)

COMPLETE ADDRESS: Hof Blome, Auf dem Güstenberg 6, 44805 Bochum, Germany