Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Almenland Almochse
Record Number: 57
Disclosure Date
First mention of cattle husbandry in this region in the Middle Ages when large areas were uprooted for the benefit of livestock farming. The lordship of Stubegg (castle near the area Teichalm, East Styria) set up an Almmeierhof (farm house on alpine pasture) for livestock farming in the Middle Ages.
Photo: BM...
Almenland Almochse
(Almenland alp steer)
Abstract or claim
Breeding of Almenland Almochsen is the result of Traditional Knowledge on breeding and extensive cattle husbandry over centuries in the area Teichalm-Sommeralm in Styria.
The beef of Almenland Almochsen is characterized by tender marbling, a compact, meaty and fine fibrous texture and a tasty aroma which is directly related to the regional alpine vegetation.
The environmentally friendly and soil-conserving management of the farms and alpine pastures contributes essentially to the sustainable preservation of the alpine landscape of the region.
Name of product, Product class
Beef, fresh meat
Name of region
Almenland, East Styria, Styria, Austria
Field of search
Food and Agriculture
Name of information provider
Ing. Lorenz Stockner
Name of applicant for title
Steirische Bergland Marktgemeinschaft
(marketing association of the Styrian mountain area)
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
Alp farmers in the region of Almenland and in the Steirische Bergland Marktgemeinschaft (marketing association of the Styrian mountain area)
Grantee(s), holder(s),
assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
Steirische Bergland Marktgemeinschaft
(marketing association of the Styrian mountain area)
A-8162 Passail
Descriptors
- History:
Already in the 5th millennium B.C. natural alpine pastures above the timberline were utilised in Austria.
As early as in the 7th century A.D. alpine pasture farming started and was then further developed.
In the Middle Ages, at the least at the turn from the 13th to the 14th century, the rising demand for properties resulted in year-round inhabited settlements at higher altitudes.
One of the first farm houses on alpine pastures in the region of Almenland was the “Almmeierhof” which was set up in the Middle Ages by the lordship of Stubegg for the purpose of livestock farming.
Around 1700 numerous alpine areas were sold to gentries, farmers, and businessmen to be used as alpine pastures, hunting areas and for forestry.
In the 17th and 18th century numerous alpine pastures, including the area of Sommeralm, were grazed by cattle.
In the 19th century intensive alpine pasture farming was common in the entire high valley of Almenland.
Until after the end of World War II, the method of setting fires to alpine pastures was very common in the entire area to eliminate small shrubs from pastures. After clearing, the areas could be used as alpine pastures. Today this method is banned.
Cattle on alpine pastures mainly consisted of trek oxen.
Older oxen were brought back to farms as early as at “Laurenzi” (10th August) as the trek oxen were needed for the transport of harvested hay and crops and for the subsequent growing of winter grains. Having finished these tasks, the oxen were mainly brought to Lower Austria for fattening. “Well matured” beef of the fattened steers ended up as “classical beef from steers” in the Viennese cuisine.
In the middle of the 20th century, trek oxen became less important in the region due to the rapidly advancing mechanisation in agriculture.
Instead of herding oxen on alpine pastures, farmers shifted to keeping dairy cows.
In the 1960s there was a trend from cattle keeping to forestry which lead to an increase in the forest share of the region.
In 1988 the association“Steirerland Almochsenfleisch-Weizer Bergland” was established by 45 founding members. In 1995 it was renamed “Steirische Bergland Marktgemeinschaft”.
In 1989 the designation “Almo Steirisches Almochsenfleisch” was registered as word/picture trademark.
While in 1990 only 453 ALMO steers were marketed, in 2007 already as many as 4,575 steers were sold.
In 1995 twelve East Styrian municipalities located around Teichalm and Sommeralm set up the LEADER region “Almenland” with the key product “ALMO”.
In 2004 Almenland Marketing GmbH (Almenland Marketing limited liability company) was founded with the objective of positioning its key product “ALMO” on the market in a sustainable way.
In 2005 the designations “ALMO” and “Almo Almochsenfleisch aus Österreich” additionally became trademarks.
The companies Schirnhofer, Freitag and Kail are entitled to exclusively market ALMO beef under these trademarks.
In 2006 twelve municipalities were awarded the term “Naturpark Almenland” on the basis of the Styrian Nature Conservation Act.
In addition to this region in Styria, ALMO is now being produced also on several alpine pastures in Carinthia and Lower Austria.
- Region:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The region is located in the political district of Weiz and includes twelve municipalities (Arzberg, Breitenau am Hochlantsch, Fladnitz an der Teichalm, Gasen, Koglhof, Haslau bei Birkfeld, Hohenau an der Raab, Naintsch, Passail, St. Kathrein am Offenberg, Tyrnau, Tulwitz).
Habitat:
The area of Teichalm-Sommeralm is a unique high valley with about 125 alpine pastures which are registered in the Austrian Almkataster (alp register). The region covers an area of 3,663 hectares and is thus one the largest areas with interconnected alpine pastures in Europe.
Most of the alpine pastures are located at altitudes between 1200 and 1500 m, only few at lower altitudes.
The region is characterized by shallow slopes, healthy and mellow alpine soils and crystal clear water. The existing landscape of Teichalm-Sommeralm has been shaped by economic activities of man over centuries, notably by alpine farmers.
The local plant societies may vary significantly depending on whether soils low or rich in nutrients are present and on the specific climatic conditions at different altitudes. The geological situation is multifaceted.
Lifestock keeping on alpine pastures prevents the emerging of shrubs and forests and contributes to the preservation of the present landscape.
The alpine pastures are mainly in private hands. However, also farming associations, one Zinsalm (interest alp) and some Pachtalmen (rented alps) exist.
Climate:
Due to its location in the south of the East Alps the region has continental climate.
On the high valley of Almenland the weather is cool in winter (-3o C on average) and coolish in summer (13o C). Precipitation is high (about 1026 mm) with more than 40 days with thunderstorms. Relative sunshine is limited to only 30-38%.
The isolated location favours nightly lakes of cold air which are often associated with mighty high-fogs and valley fogs during the winter (80-100 days).
Frost may occur all the year (up to 170 days per year), but occurs predominantly during wintertime. Temperature inversion (70-80%) often dominates the climate.
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The term Almenland Almochsen is used for steers of a range of breeds: purebred Fleckvieh, Limousin, Franken, and purebred Carinthian Blond, the endangered native Styrian breed Murbodner as well asall crossings between these breeds.
Oxen and steers are well adapted to the climate of the region. They are docile, not aggressive and tolerant to stress.
Method of production:
Breeding/fattening:
Guidelines for the production of “Almo Steirisches Almochsenfleisch” (ALMO®), notably on breeding and quality requirements, are laid down in a manual which was prepared by the company Schirnhofer in cooperation with the association “Steirerland Almochsenfleisch-Weizer Bergland”.
Farmers in the respective region may join the ALMO® production subject to their participation in the Austrian Agri-environmental programme (ÖPUL) and their membership in the ALMO organisation.
About 75 % of the 500 farms taking part in the ALMO quality meat programme (as of 1 January 2008) are specialized on “ALMO Almochsen” production. 10 % are organic farms. On average, ALMO farmers keep 20 steers per year and market 9-10 steers thereof.
The average utilised agricultural area is 17 ha per farm, of which 15 ha are grassland.
All participating farms are registered in the national land register for mountain farms (“Berghöfekataster”).
Bull calves stem either from on-farm breeding or from farms specialized on steer breeding. Bull calves or young steers are bought in addition from farms specialized on suckler cows.
The bull calves are castrated at 2- 6 months in compliance with the legislative provisions.
Animals have to be kept in a way which ensures their welfare at every stage of their life.
Appropriate to the needs of the species ALMO steers are grazed on alpine pastures and pastures of alpine farmers from May to October (about 150-180 days). During summer about 3,000 head of cattle are kept on the pastures of Teichalm and Sommeralm, 1000 thereof are ALMO steers.
Every animal has about 1 hectare of alpine pasture for grazing. The feeding stuff for steers consists of aromatic alpine herbs and plants and, additionally, grains (mainly rye and barley). On the alps, steers are supplied with fresh, pure alpine water from streamlets or water troughs. To protect cattle from heat, thunderstorms and insects, stables or other refuge possibilities have to be available on the alpine pastures.
During winter steers are kept in loose-housing stables where the animals have enough space to move freely and to lie down. Farms in transition may use neckbands or light weighted chains in tie-stalls for a limited time.
Feeding stuff for the winter period, such as hay or silage, is produced on-farm.
Grass silage is not restricted and can be fed in the two months preceding slaughter. Maize silage has to be produced domestically.
Grain has to originate from Austria when it is used in the eight weeks of fattening. As the mountain farmers are frequently pure grassland farmers, the grains have to be bought on the market.
The addition of antibiotics, fattening aids, colouring agents or genetically modified grains is banned. Shredded soya is not used for fattening. Milk exchange material is allowed, but rarely used.
Since 2005 ALMO steers are produced without the use of genetic engineering, developed according to certified guidelines and controlled by an accredited control body (AgroVet).
Transport and Slaughter:
ALMO farmers have to indicate the intended marketing of a steer two months in advance in order to allow for a weekly delivery scheduling.
The steers are slaughtered at an average of 25 months and a live weight of about 700 kg, which corresponds to a slaughter weight of 370-400 kg.
ALMO steers are exclusively slaughtered at an EC-approved slaughterhouse (certified according to ISO 9002) in the municipality of Weiz. On average 90 steers are slaughtered every week.
The steers are brought to the slaughterhouse mainly by the farmers themselves for the following reasons: stress reduction for the steers as the animals are familiar with the farmer, short transports, avoiding mixture with other steers during transport, better meat quality due to less stress.
After slaughtering, the carcasses are officially controlled by veterinarians, classified according to the EUROP grading scale and then labelled as ALMO®. After that, the meat is ripened for 10-14 days in ripening and cold storage rooms of the slaughterhouse under defined temperature and moisture conditions. The special maturing process guarantees beef of high quality.
Meat cutting is carried out by the companies of the marketing partners (Schirnhofer, Feiertag and Kail).
Meat description:
ALMO beef has excellent quality. The steers are allowed to grow slowly and are slaughtered at about 25 months. The meat is pre-matured as carcass halves and is then matured cut up in specific ripening and cooling rooms for at least 14 days.
In the course of the maturing process, the connective tissue is broken down and aroma substances develop. The maturing process also serves to make the fine-fibred, delicately marbled beef particularly tender and mellow.
The beef is cherry-red to ruby-red with lighter fat strands.
About 50% of the beef conforms “E” and “U” in the EUROP grading scale, the rest conforms “R”. As to fat content, 97% of the beef conforms to class 3 in the EUROP grading scale, 3% to fat class 2. Fat class 3 relates to optimal fattened steers.
- Quality control:
Compliance with quality requirements is controlled both internally by inspection of the alpine pastures and externally by inspection bodies of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, the animal protection association “Vier Pfoten” (Four Paws) and official inspection bodies.
- Utilization:
ALMO beef is offered as raw meat or processed meat.
Famous are the traditional Austrian beef cuts “Tafelspitz”, “Schulterscherzl”, “mageres Meisl”, “Brustkern”, and “Beinfleisch”.
Tafelspitz: Photo: AMA | Schulterscherzl: Photo: AMA | Brustkern: Photo: AMA | Mageres Meisel: Photo: AMA |
- Proof of origin:
The steers are identified with an official mark (ear-tag) and registered in accordance with the Austrian Animal Identification and Registration Ordinance (“Tierkennzeichnungs- und Registrierungsverordnung”) 2007.
The traceability of the cattle from the point of sale to the farm where they were reared is ensured by the “bos” system of AMA (Austria Agrar Marketing) when marketed by the company Feiertag or by the certified VUQS-system of the “Verein zur Ursprungs- und Qualitätssicherung” when marketed by the companies Schirnhofer or Kail.
The origin of ALMO beef can be ensured by the application of isotope tests specifically developed for ALMO beef.
Thus producers and consumers are protected from free-riders using the trademark unlicensed.
Connection with the region and Traditional Knowledge:
- Specific soil and climate conditions in the region of Almenland enable the extensive management
of steers on alpine pastures.
-Traditional, characteristic rearing systems: Extensive management of herds and the utilisation of
alpine pastures during the vegetation period.
- A strong link with the area: Steers are grazed on alpine plants and herbs and are offered fresh
mountain water on the alpine pastures.
- Feeding stuffs for the winter period, such as hay or silage, are produced by the farmer himself
on the holding.
- This type of management produces beef with specific characteristics in terms of conformation
and marbling: The meat has a very unique aroma and flavour which is directly related to the local
alpine flora.
- The production of Almenland Almochsen is the result of Traditional Knowledge passed down from
generation to generation: The Traditional Knowledge and experience of cattle farmers (adapting
the management of herds to environmental constraints, the historical selection of breeds, the
expertise of shepherds, the method of steer beef production, raising of steers in high valleys,
genetic improvement), knowledge of wholesale butchers (animal transport, experience in
slaughtering, meat ripening) and the expertise of producer organisations (Steirische Bergland
Marktgemeinschaft).
- Marketing:
The marketing and promotion of Almenland ALMO- Almochsen is in the hands of Almenland Marketing GmbH. According to the marketing guidelines, the exclusive partner companies Schirnhofer, Feiertag and Kail sell the beef to the food trade and to gastronomy. In regional gastronomy, about 17 Almenland innkeepers offer ALMO® beef from Almochsen steers on their menus.
- Protection:
Word/picture trademark “Almo Steirisches Almochsenfleisch”(Austrian Patent Office Register No. 128 281, 22 November 1998)
Word trademark “ALMO” (Austrian Patent Office Register No. 223 159, 15 February 2005)
Word/picture trademark “Almo Almochsenfleisch aus Österreich” (Austrian Patent Office Register No. 223 174, 16 February 2005)
Key Words
Food and Agriculture, Traditional Knowledge, Austria, region, Styria, Almenland, Almochse, alp steer, steer, cattle, Almenland Almochse, ALMO, Almenland alp steer
Bibliography / References
- AgroVet GmbH
http://www.agrovet.at/index.php?site=taetigkeitsbereiche&nav=m3-1
- Almen und Erosion
http://www.eduhi.at/gegenstand/geographie/data/Almen_-_Erosion.pdf
- Almenland
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almenland
- Almenland Almochse
http://www.genuss-region.at
- Almenland- Die Almo-Genussregion
http://www.almenland.at
- Almenland Teichalm - Sommeralm
http://www.bergfex.at/sommer/teichalm/
- Das Leitprojekt „ALMO-Genussregion“
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rur/leaderplus/pdf/bestpractice/bp1_de.pdf
- Das Steirische Almenland mit allen Sinnen erleben
http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache:VMYIVCL0zecJ:gw.eduhi.at/bundesarge/exkursionen/almenland.doc+eduhi.at/bundesarge/exkursionen/almenland.doc+Almenland+Klima&hl=de&ct=clnk&cd=1
- Die Marke Almo
http://alumni.boku.ac.at/pics/bokulumniOktober06.pdf
- Einreichunterlagen „LEADER TOP – Der agrarische Innovationspreis im ländlichen Raum“ Leader
Almenland – die ALMO Genussregion”
http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache:KoFjqvlvsdAJ:www.leader-austria.at/regions/almenlandteichalmsommeralm/news/news.2007-01-22.3536/de/file/+Qualit%C3%A4tsschlachthof+Weiz&hl= de&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=at
- Ethik im Kühlregal- Fleischkauf ohne schlechtes Gewissen
http://www.ecoplus.at/magazin/00/artikel/40829/doc/d/ Vortrag_Ethik_im_Kuehlfach_am_%203_Technologietag_% 2022052007.pdf
- Geschichte der Almwirtschaft
http://www.almwirtschaft.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=91
- Klimaregion Passailer Becken
http://www.umwelt.steiermark.at/cms/beitrag/10023541/25206/
- Kutscha R. Das Birkhuhn auf der Teichalm-Sommeralm. Lebensraum. Rückgangsursachen.
Habitatmanagement, Diploma thesis at the Vienna University of Natural Resources and Applied
Life Sciences, 2007, online at
https://zidapps.boku.ac.at/abstracts/download.php? dataset_id=5833&property_id=107
- Landwirtschaftliche Mitteilungen - Landeskammer für Land- und Forstwirtschaft Steiermark
http://lwmitteilungen.agrarnet.info/netautor/napro4/wrapper/media.php?id=%2C%2C%2C%2CZmlsZW5hbWU9YXJjaGl2ZSUzRCUyRjAxLjA5LjIwMDQlMkYxMDk0MDMwNjI1LnBkZiZybj1MTV8xN18xLjkuMDQucGRm
- Madrid Express Structured Search- Marke: Almo
http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/search/madrid/search-struct.jsp
- Ochse
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochse
- Regionalentwicklung im Berggebiet und institutioneller Wandel
http://www.almenland.org/download/Berggebiet.pdf
- Schirnhofer- der steirische Feinkostspezialist
http://www.feinkost-schirnhofer.at/cms/index.php
- Steiermark hat vier neue Genussregionen
http://www.agrarnet.info/netautor/napro4/appl/na_professional/parse.php?id=2500%2C1284079%2C%2C%2CbnBmX3NldF9wb3NbaGl0c109Mw%3D%3D
- Steirisches Almochsenfleisch
http://www.stuettgen-die-feinkost.de/
- Teichalm – Tyrnaueralm -Rote Wand
http://www.almenland.net/download/Tyrnaueralm.pdf
- Verein zur Ursprungs- und Qualitätssicherung
http://www.vuqs.at/freibereich/index.asp
- Wissenswertes
http://www.catering-weiz.at/almo.html
All internet references last accessed on 23 June 2008.
Language Code
German
Product of www.genuss-region.at
Yes
Regional contact
Almenland Marketing GmbH, Tourismusverband Almenland
A-8163 Fladnitz/Teichalm 100
Phone: +43(0)3179/23000-0
Fax: +43(0)3179/23000- 20
E-mail: info@almenland.at
www.almenland.at;
www.feinkost-schinhofer.at
Authors: Mag. Eva Sommer, Dr. Erhard Höbaus
28.07.2010, Lebensministerium III/4