Thoughts on Milk Production, Calf Fattening and Sustainable Agriculture

Last week I visited the Buure Metzg (butcher) in Gstaad and, together with the manager, visited various farms. It was a wonderful trip at 1500 meters above sea level, where I learned a lot about local agriculture and milk and meat production.

The Saanen calf initiative is particularly important in the Saanen region. The calves stay on the farm and are fed with the farm's own milk. The milk prices are so low that this only makes sense for the farmers. The alternative would be to sell the milk for little money and buy it back as much more expensive milk powder, which is also enriched with many things. It also makes sense ecologically, of course, as there are no unnecessary transports and the animals only receive the farm's own milk, grass and straw.

The topic of "calf" is unfortunately not often discussed, but it is a reality. As a rule, the calves are separated from their mother on the first day, raised in boxes and sold to a fattening farm after a few weeks. Since animals from different farms come together on such farms, they often receive preventive antibiotics. With the Saanen calf initiative, on the other hand, the animals stay on the farm and do not receive any antibiotics. In my opinion, mother-bonded calf rearing in milk production would then be the icing on the cake.