My colleague said that here in Switzerland, each bit of grass is precious. The grass feeds the cows, the cows produce milk, which then produces a plethora of economic activity (in the morning, I can see farmers driving up to the cheesemakers' next door, unloading milk destined to become cheese or yogurt). Apparently, one must not walk in pastures-- the farmers will be angry that you are disturbing the grass!
This time of year the herds are descending from their summer place in the high mountains. Some families and even whole towns celebrate the "Desalpage" (de-Alping?), the farmers dress in traditional costume and decorate the cows with flowers and ribbons, and they parade through the street. I saw a family doing this last Saturday, it was very charming. The family I was with at the time was very excited and leaned out the car window to cheer on the farmers: "Bravo!"
Here is how it works, for maximum grass efficiency:
In summer, the cows move to the high mountains. It's not too cold up there then, and there is not much snow-- the cows have plenty to eat. Some farmers stay beside the herd in their "summer house" up there, some ascend once every few days to check on the cows. In the meantime, down below, farmers grow hay on the empty pastures.
In fall, the cows begin to descend. I see a herd across the way at about this level. Some families have yet another place to stay at this "in-between" place on the mountain.
In the winter, the cows take shelter in barns in the valleys, and eat the hay that was prepared during the summer and fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment