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At the regional assembly of the South Tyrolean Farmers' Association in 2024, three mountain farming families were awarded the Mountain Farming Prize. Among them is the Breitenberger family from the Essen farm in St. Pankraz. A special mountain farming story is that of Sonia and Leo Breitenberger. When a single uncle of Sonia Breitenberger was looking for a successor for his farm and no one else in the family showed any interest in the extreme mountain farm Essen (119 difficulty points) above St. Pankraz, the young family decided to take over the farm. To do this, Sonia Breitenberger moved from the city to the farm. The young family has modernized the farm almost from scratch. A new house for the now five-member family, a machine hall, a new farm building and a new playpen have been built. Leo Breitenberger also bought machines, leveled the meadows, restored pastures, built paths and installed an irrigation system. Uncle Josef Matzoll gave the young family free rein in all of this work. Today the farm is a sustainable dairy farm, which is run full-time by Leo and Sonia Breitenberger. The investments were financed with their own funds, a bank loan and subsidies - without these, such an investment would not have been possible. Leo and Sonia Breitenberger mow almost seven hectares of meadows up to three times a year. Thanks to irrigation, the feed yield and quality are usually good. Animal welfare is a top priority at the Essen farm. In addition to the free-stall barn, there is a communal alpine pasture and a pasture for an average of 17 animals. 50 hectares of forest are actively managed. A new forest path makes the work easier. Leo Breitenberger constantly maintains the typical Ulten wooden fence around the meadows and pastures. Despite the amount of work, he also finds time for voluntary work, including at the tobogganing club.