Hof Löbke: Adventure farm for the whole family

The 43-year-old is the second son of Marianne and Werner Löbke, who leased the farm at the foot of the Teutoburg Forest forty years ago. Originally, conventional farming was practised here, but the Löbkes soon switched cultivation to soft fruits, asparagus and vegetables. In 2001, Tobias Löbke joined the farm business, and since then the graduate in business administration has been in charge of selling the products.

In addition to him, four of his five siblings are also active in their parents' farm, and there are about 50 employees in the core business. "In the main season of asparagus and strawberries we have up to 150 employees, plus the temporary workers at the weekly markets." And that's how many helping hands are needed at the Löbke farm, because in addition to fruit and vegetable cultivation and the farm shop, there is also a large farm restaurant, a huge farm playground and various animals such as goats, ponies, cows and alpacas.

In addition to the jam and preserving kitchen, the farm manufactories also include a bakery, floristry and a gift workshop where processed products such as spreads or pastries are put together to make pretty gift baskets.

"We constantly revise our range and see what is in demand and what is not. For a while, we had up to 50 different types of jam - that was too much, now there are only 30 types," Tobias Löbke explains. "As close to the customer as possible" is the Löbkes' philosophy, which goes hand in hand with the issue of regionality: "Short distances mean better taste - and taste is the most important thing for the people who buy from us," Tobias Löbke emphasises.

In the wake of the Corona pandemic, regional shopping has become even more important, "a reflection on what is available locally. And: The experience character of visiting the farm shop as well as the weekly market is becoming increasingly important, "in bright sunshine and in the best mood, people are much more likely to opt for high-quality food from the region," Tobias Löbke is sure. It is a good thing that the Löbke farm is not lacking in experience value, because there is always something going on here.