Because of farm stands

“Retailers always view farmers as competition”

Farm stands score points with fresh vegetables. However, those who also offer third-party goods are only allowed to stay open for 72 hours.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

“It’s all very complicated”—this legendary quote from former Federal Chancellor Fred Sinowatz also applies to the regulations governing farm stands.  If farmers also sell products from other sources, they’re subject to the same opening hours as retail stores. And the retail sector makes sure that stays that way.

It’s not just small livestock that make money—vegetables, grains, and other farm products do too—and more and more farmers are warming up to the idea of direct sales. In Upper Austria alone, there are more than 200 farm stores. But sales are strictly regulated: anyone who also offers third-party products is only allowed to be open for 72 hours. This also affected farmer Michael Kirchgatterer (40) from Ohlsdorf, who is furious because he has to close his self-service store on Sundays for precisely that reason—as we reported.

I’ve also had inspections by the authorities at my own farm store in Pennewang. They really scrutinize what we farmers are doing. 

Franz Waldenberger, Kammer-präsident

But what does the Chamber of Agriculture actually have to say about this? 
We asked President Franz Waldenberger, who, by the way, runs a self-service store on his own farm in Pennewang selling farm-fresh products—a store that’s allowed to stay open 24/7. “We know that the retail and commercial sectors are keeping a very close eye on the opening hours of farm stores. Behind the scenes, of course, this also involves Sunday openings, which the retail sector would like to see,” says Waldenberger.

Uni-Markt Failed Before the Constitutional Court
The now-defunct Unimarkt chain had attempted to copy the farm store model with its “Uni-Boxes,” but failed to do so. The Constitutional Court ruled that such self-service boxes do not qualify as vending machines under the Opening Hours Act. Nevertheless, such concepts remain a topic of discussion in the retail sector.

Meanwhile, the Chamber of Agriculture, in coordination with the Chamber of Commerce, is trying to prevent such cases from escalating. Ultimately, however, these are laws—and they must be followed.