Agriculture, southern Germany, Austria: The dairymaid is responsible for rounding up and milking the cows and, if necessary, for making dairy products (butter, cheese); she usually runs alpine farming alone on behalf of the farmer
Josefa Leitner, 20 years old, lives in the mountains, alone and without internet. She is responsible for dozens of young cattle – and wants to find out how she gets on with herself. The film accompanies the young dairymaid for two years.
Video in German only: https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/erlebnis-erde/die-sennerin/das-erste
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Bernese Oberland Alpine Cheese
Berner Alpkäse is a hard cheese produced in the Alps of the Bernese Oberland and adjacent areas of Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese, and is a spicy, full-fat, raw milk cheese without holes. The cheese is manufactured exclusively with manual labour, usually on a wood fire.
‘Cheese Sharing’ in the Berner Oberland
Here in the Berner Oberland, around the 10th of June, 20,000 cows go up the mountains into the alpine pastures. There are 630 dairy huts scattered throughout the mountains. From these huts, over two million pounds of alpcheese are produced. Cheese aged for three years or more is called Höbelkäse and is sold in local restaurants.
It takes 10 kilograms (22 lbs) of milk to produce just one kilogram of cheese. Therefore, a day in the life of an alpine dairy farmer is very hard. A farmer’s day starts by 5 a.m. and does not end until after 8 p.m. He or she gets only one day off each summer and must stay in the Alps for 100 days. Throughout the summer they may have to move into other huts in higher elevations, to find more fertile pastures for the cows.
There are three different types of cows: the browns in the east, the brown and whites in the central region, and the black-and-white ones in the French part of Switzerland. Unlike Swiss humans, the cows all speak the same language: “Mooooo!”
At the end of summer, around the first week in September, the cows begin their descent into the plains and valleys. This is a time of great celebration. There are parties everywhere and the cheese is distributed to the owner of the cow after the daily milk report. The festivities around the cheese-cutting and distribution to the farmer are known locally as a Chästeilet (“cheese sharing”).
This is a wonderful opportunity to see another side of the Berner Oberland — to venture into isolated areas that the average tourist generally does not get to see. Don’t be afraid; my hotel guests have had outstanding adventures with the locals. Enjoying our wine and beer might also help.
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