Alpine Farming & Mountain Farmers:
Mowing Assistance for Steep Areas
Shrub encroachment, bracken, and regenerating forests have threatened alpine pastures for generations. The Jack Schlegel keeps open alpine pastures open — remotely controlled, safe, in a fraction of the time it would take a person with a brush cutter.
The Silent Crisis of the Mountain Landscape
Abandoned alpine pastures become overgrown within a few years. Bracken, dwarf pines, elderberry, blackberry — well-maintained pastures turn into wilderness. Grazing capacity disappears, the biodiversity of alpine dry grasslands declines, and the cultural landscape of the Alps erodes.
Where mountain farmers once fought with scythes and motor mowers, labor is often lacking today. Riding mowers are prohibited or life-threatening on steep alpine slopes. There is a gap between "manual labor is no longer possible" and "machine is not possible." This gap is precisely what the remote-controlled mowing caterpillar fills.
Why the Jack Schlegel is the right machine for the alpine pasture
Schlegel System with Y-Blades
Hardened Y-blades lay down bracken, young dwarf pines, brush, and perennial growth — material that normal sickle mowers fail to handle.
100% Gradient & Stability
With a weight of 530 kg and a low center of gravity, the Jack Schlegel operates on slopes up to 100% (45°) — exactly where manual mowing becomes life-threatening.
200 m Radio Range
The operator stands at the top of the alpine path or at the bottom of the riverbank — no person in the danger zone, no risk in case of a machine defect.
Robust chain drive
The steel insert in the rubber track withstands stony alpine floors, gravel, roots, and wet ground. Maintenance-friendly for use far from the workshop.
Three typical application scenarios
First mowing — restoration
Alpine area not mowed for 5–10 years: eagle fern head high, mountain pine knee high. The Jack mower systematically works through — what would take weeks by hand, the machine accomplishes in days.
Annual maintenance mowing
In alpine areas with active grazing, residual areas, riverbeds, and slope sections must be maintained. One to two Jack operations per year keep these areas open.
Preparation for funding programs
ÖPUL funding requires regular maintenance. Own machine or purchased mowing service with the Jack meets the funding requirements economically.
Frequently asked questions from alpine farming
Stop bush encroachment, maintain alpine pastures?
We know alpine terrain, funding landscape, and the Jack Schlegel at the load limit. Let's talk about your alpine pasture.