The pilot project "Targeted water management through passive irrigation" is putting a new approach to the test in the Grosses Moos. Matthias Schwab is gaining first-hand experience with it in the Grissachmoos, where he runs a farm together with his family.

Between the Zihl Canal and a major drainage ditch lies one of the lowest points in the municipality of Gals—an area once known by the old field name "Wasserhof" or "water farm." This is where Matthias Schwab farms today. The name reflects a long-standing challenge with waterlogging. Without drainage, farming in this area would not be possible. "Water always finds its way," Schwab says. For many, drainage is simply a technical system. For him, it is part of a broader idea: guiding water, protecting soils, and rethinking agriculture.

Matthias Schwab and his family run a farm that includes arable production and dairy farming as part of a joint enterprise. Together with his brother Markus, he also runs a contracting business specializing in potato technology and services related to irrigation and drainage systems. The farm and the contracting business are clearly separate in organizational and accounting terms. Their roles are equally clear: Matthias develops concepts and ideas for innovation, while Markus assesses them, calculates their feasibility, and takes care of the technical implementation.

Their path was not an easy one. After their father died, the brothers had to take over the family farm at an early stage. "We did not know everything, but we found our way through." Alongside the farm, their father also passed on a strong spirit of innovation. Back in the 1980s, he installed an electric irrigation system, something unusual at the time. The family also invested early in maintaining the drainage system. Today, Matthias Schwab sees himself as a practitioner with a drive to explore. His motivation is to make agriculture fit for the future, with solutions that benefit not only his own farm, but the wider region as well.

The Seeland is fertile, but it is also demanding. The soils in the Grissachmoos are in places heavy, peaty, and sensitive. "Without drainage, our farm could not be managed," Matthias Schwab explains. Heavy rainfall is a particular challenge at this low-lying site: water collects in the fields. In dry periods, by contrast, the upper soil layer quickly becomes hard and cracked. Another factor is the intensive use of the soil after the Second World War, which led to a loss of soil structure. For some time now, however, a mindset shift has been underway, with more care being taken in how the soil is managed. Sustainable land use has become a central concern. Schwab has tried various approaches to respond to these changing conditions, including soil improvement measures, loosening deeper soil layers, and growing new crops such as sweet potatoes, which are better suited to drier conditions.

The idea of subirrigation—a passive irrigation method using controlled water retention in drainage pipes—came to Matthias Schwab while driving across his fields. Could it be possible to hold back and use some of the water flowing through the region? It is a striking idea in the Three-Lakes Region, where one third of Switzerland's total freshwater flows through the landscape—through Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Biel, and Lake Murten—and the Grosses Moos sits at the heart of it.

Schwab brought the idea to the "Forum Ins," a stakeholder platform launched by the Wyss Academy and the Canton of Bern. There, the concept was developed further together with other actors. The principle is simple: instead of draining water away, some of it is retained in a controlled way. A regulating structure in the main pipe holds back water from the Zihl Canal in the drainage lines. From there, it moves upward toward the root zone through capillary rise, without the need for surface irrigation. The advantages are clear: more even soil moisture, less stress on crops, protection of organic soil layers, and lower carbon dioxide emissions through reduced peat degradation.

Since April 2025, the passive irrigation system has been operating on a large plot. Supported by scientific research from the University of Neuchâtel and implemented as part of the pilot project "Targeted water management through passive irrigation" in the Grosses Moos, the system is intended to show how well it works, how water is distributed under different conditions, and how hydrogeological processes unfold below the surface.

For Matthias Schwab, making agriculture fit for the future is not a slogan, but a practical responsibility. “It is not about producing as much as possible, but about producing sustainably. At the same time, not producing is not an option for me.” The next steps are already taking shape. Schwab is considering combining the system with sensor-based surface irrigation and wants to make it accessible to other farms. His message to younger colleagues is clear: “Have the courage to try new paths. Stay open. And above all, always start with the soil.”

For Cyrill Hess, Scientific Associate at the Wyss Academy and responsible for the pilot projects in the Grosses Moos, pioneers such as Matthias Schwab are essential to the success of the Wyss Academy approach. “With our support, they are developing solutions with strong potential for the region and beyond.”

This text was first published in August 2025 in the Swiss agricultural magazine “die grüne” (author: Gil Rudaz). It is reproduced here in a slightly adapted and shortened version.