Manuel Plattner from Keldererhof in Calice
Innovation born out of everyday life on the farm.
With his fully electric mowing machine, Manuel Plattner won the IM.PULS Innovation Award of the South Tyrolean Farmers’ Youth Association, showing just how much future potential lies in practical farming experience and technical thinking.
From tinkering on the farm – and the idea of making things better yourself
Manuel received a special honour: in November 2025, he was awarded the IM.PULS Innovation Award by the South Tyrolean Farmers’ Youth Association for his fully electric mowing machine. For Manuel, innovation is nothing new – it has been part of his life for a long time. On the farm, practical solutions keep emerging with the aim of making work easier, improving processes and using technology meaningfully in agriculture.
About carrying on after a great loss – and consciously choosing to stay on the farm
The award-winning mowing machine is already the second custom-built project at Kelderer farm. An earlier model with an internal combustion engine had already been in use before the fully electric version was developed – the one Manuel ultimately entered into the competition. Together with his brother Philipp, he created the machine מתוך the conviction that there is still considerable potential for improvement on the market. Manuel brings not only enthusiasm to the project, but also a great deal of expertise. He spent 15 years working in research and development at Prinoth. For the past three years, he has also been self-employed in the field of photovoltaics and battery storage, alongside his work on the farm. The machine originally began as a hobby project for their own needs. But the results were better than expected. Technically, too, the concept has proved its worth: the battery performs reliably, even during longer periods of use. In Manuel’s view, the bigger challenge is not performance, but charging infrastructure. Fast charging requires a sufficiently powerful electricity supply – and that is not always available in the field or on the farm.
The milking robot was the best decision. Spending four to five hours a day on barn work is no longer sustainable by today’s standards.
Manuel Plattner
Technology, animal welfare and organic farming – when innovation transforms everyday life
Since the first article in 2022, quite a lot has changed on the farm. Manuel has since installed a milking robot – for him, one of the best decisions he could have made. Although the farm is not large, with around 20 livestock units, the investment also pays off on smaller farms thanks to funding support. In Manuel’s view, the technology is now reliable and well established, and many issues can be solved through remote maintenance. The cows also adapted quickly to the new system. For Manuel, the benefits are very tangible in everyday life: less barn work, greater flexibility, healthier animals, lower veterinary costs and a better overview of the herd’s condition.
The milking robot allows him to see immediately when something is wrong with one of the cows. Feeding and manure removal are automated, and many processes can also be monitored via cameras. At the same time, Manuel is converting the farm to organic production. Much of the operation was already organised in a natural and animal-friendly way, so the main change was to the concentrate feed. He is especially convinced by the combination of grazing and the milking robot: the cows can move freely and decide for themselves when to come into the barn for milking. For Manuel, this represents a real step forward in animal welfare.
Many fields, one farm – family, energy and the future.
Manuel lives at Kelderer farm with his wife Manuela, their children Jana and Emil, and his mother. She continues to play an active role on the farm, especially during the labour-intensive summer months. While haymaking demands a great deal of effort, winter is a somewhat quieter time of year. The farm is also consistently focused on energy: almost everything runs on electricity. With a 20 kWp photovoltaic system and battery storage, the farm can cover most of its electricity needs with self-generated power for all but two winter months. Despite all the technological progress, Manuel has no intention of expanding by keeping more animals. Instead, he wants to keep improving existing processes, for example through a stationary electric feed-mixing system. He remains optimistic about the future: milk is and will remain a staple food, and investments in agriculture offer long-term security.