Cows, cows, cows...

Switzerland is pretty well known internationally or a few different things:

• Cows and cheese

• Mountains

• Chocolate

• Watches

• Multinational companies and the Red Cross...

All of it a little stereotypical, nevertheless still pretty true. There are definitely many, many cows here and although we need their milk to make the world renowned Swiss cheese, a lot of farmers in these small alpine villages prefer to raise cattle for meat instead. Milk is not paid well to the farmers, and it can be very hard to rely on that as a means to sustain a family. Many farmers sell their cattle for meat, it is a better revenue and also a bonus for customers who are looking for organically and ethically raised meat. We are expecting a large order to fill our freezer in the next few weeks, and I will let you know in an other blog post how that goes! It is very hard work to be a farmer here! The summer season is really short. Better not miss the window of good weather to cut, dry and put away the hay or it'll cost the farmer a lot of money to have to buy some! This year proved to be a challenge, as the rains would just not stop in the spring and early summer, delaying hay cutting by some time. Typically, the land farmers own is not extremely large, it is usually passed down in the family from father to a son (or daughter) but preferably not divided, or it would become impossible to make a living. As a result, many find work outside of the farm, marry and/or leave the area.

It always wonderful to watch cows being moved to their summer pastures sometime in June, depending on the weather. They usually walk from the main farm to their alpine fields, even though it can be many kilometers away. It is a big occasion, with bells and flowers galore, but unfortunately, even some of these events have been disrupted by Covid the last couple of years, as crowds were not encouraged to gather to watch the event. Such a shame! Let's hope that it will come back, bigger and better, in the very near future.

As I write this, on a very rainy day, the cows have mostly already come back to their winter quarters, snow can fall any day at this altitude now and they do not want to get stuck in the alpine pastures, with no access to hay. They are usually free to roam during the day, year round, close to the farm, so they get their fair share of fresh air, sunshine and movement. At the moment, they are still grazing the fresh grass that grew again after the hay was cut. My favorite sound to fall asleep or wake up to is the distant chiming of the cow bells... It is so soothing and beautiful!

I hope for you that you will get to experience this one day. In the meantime... stay healthy and stay curious!