Photo: BMLFUW/AMA Marketi...
Jagdberger Heumilchkäse
Record Number: 61
Disclosure Date
Since primeval times dairy cows have been fed with hay in the Austrian mountain areas and this method of production is still in use in the region of Jagdberg.
In 1906 the cheese dairy of Schnifis was established.
Photo: BM...
Jagdberger Heumilchkäse
(Jagdberger hay-milk cheese)
Abstract or claim
Cheeses produced from traditional hay-milk obtained from dairy cows in the region of Jagdberg, Vorarlberg.
Hay-milk is the term used for milk which is obtained from cows that are fed green fodder in summer and hay in winter. Silage fodder is banned.
Hay-milk has taste components which are directly related to the local diversity of alpine plants and herbs.
The cheese derives its characteristic taste both from the quality of hay-milk and the traditional knowledge of artisan cheese making.
Due to the extensive dairy-cow keeping the regional production of Jagdberger Heumilchkäse contributes to the sustainable preservation of the alpine and mountainous landscape and the floral biodiversity of its meadows and pastures.
Name of product, Product class
Cheese, milk products
Name of region
Jagdberg, Vorarlberg, Austria
Field of search
Food and Agriculture
Name of information provider
---
Name of applicant for title
---
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
30 hay-milk producers, 2 alpine cheese dairies at Schlins and Schnifis
Grantee(s), holder(s),
assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
---
Descriptors
- History:
Since primeval times dairy cows have been fed with hay in the Austrian mountain areas and this method of production is still in use in the region of Jagdberg.
Milk and cheese production has been of utmost importance in Vorarlberg for many generations.
In 1889 farmers of the municipality of Schlins started to cooperate in the production of cheese and butter in order to generate better proceeds.
In 1903 a co-operative was founded. In 1906 the alpine cheese dairy of Schnifis and in 1928 the village-cheese dairy of Schlins was built.
Since 1995, after Austria’s accession to the European Community, the abandonment of silage fodder has been funded within the framework of the Austrian Agri-environmental Programme (ÖPUL).
In 2004, delegates from Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria, and Styria founded the “Österreichische ARGE Heumilch” (Austrian consortium for hay-milk) in Innsbruck, Tyrol. This consortium is the umbrella organisation of hay-milk associations in the Austrian Federal Provinces and a voluntary association of Austrian dairy farmers and cheese dairies processing hay-milk.
Hay-milk is a rare speciality. Only 3 % of the milk produced in Europe is hay-milk. In Austria, by contrary, the percentage is approx. 20 %.
- Region:
The region of Jagdberg encompasses the municipalities of Düns, Dünserberg, Röns, Satteins, Schlins, and Schnifis in the political district of Feldkirch, Vorarlberg. The region is located at altitudes between 496 and 1270 m.
The region’s name originates from the former Estate of Jagdberg and the former district court of Jagdberg.
Climatic conditions:
The region is characterized by mild winters rich in snow and rather chilly summers. The annual average temperature is 8.9 ° C. Strong warm foehn winds accelerate snow melting in spring und exert a positive influence on the development of the vegetation. The average annual precipitation is 1231 mm.
Soil conditions
Mainly silicate and limy soils are to be found in the region.
Flora:
The alpine pastures of Jagdberg are located at an altitude above 1000 m. The mountain flora is the result of the local soil and climatic conditions and is characterized by a rich diversity of alpine plants.
The specific diversity of grasses and herbs in the green fodder and the hay produced therefrom provide the basis for the unique taste of Jagdberger hay-milk cheese.
- Hay milk:
Hay milk is raw milk which is obtained from cows that are fed grass in summer and hay in winter. Silage fodder is banned.
The local diversity of alpine plants and herbs is directly related to the quality of hay milk.
Hay milk is characterized by very few Clostridia spores. The presence of clostridial spores is undesirable in cheese processing as their outgrowth in raw milk may cause butyric acid fermentation, the late-blowing defect in cheese. Moreover, clostridia spores are especially harmful to infants and toddlers. Clostridia can multiply in silage fodder, but are unable to grow in dry hay.
Austrian hay milk contains very few clostridia spores (less than 200/ litre milk). Thus hay milk can be used directly for cheese processing without using preservatives or additives. For this reason, hay milk has gained a particular reputation as a special milk for the production of hard cheeses.
In contrast, standard raw milk obtained from cows fed with silage fodder has to be treated in order to remove or suppress clostridia spores as they are able to survive pasteurization. This is done by a special centrifugation or using preservatives (nitrate or lysozyme).
The use of hay milk for cheese processing accommodates consumer demands for food products close to nature. In this context, the high calcium content (100 g hay milk cheese cover the RDA - recommended daily allowance for adults) and higher levels of the nutritionally and physiologically important CLA and omega-3 essential fatty acids are to be highlighted.
Austrian Hay-milk Regulation (“Heumilchregulativ”):
The Austrian Hay-milk Regulation lays down the production prerequisites for milk termed hay milk.
Banned are:
- production and storage of silage or silage balls on the dairy farm, feeding of silage fodder
- production and feeding with moist hay or fermenting hay
- feeding with residues from breweries, distilleries and cideries of the food industry (e.g. draff,
wet chips)
- soaked feedingstuff
- feedingstuff of animal origin (milk, whey, meat-and-bone meal etc.)
- feeding of kitchen, garden and fruit waste, potatoes and urea
- feedingstuff with added antibiotics, chemotherapeutic substances or hormones.
Feedingstuff allowed for milk cows are:
- Green rape, green rye and fodder beet are permitted as supplementary feed up to 25 % of
the dry matter required by dairy cattle.
- Wheat, barley, oats, triticale, and maize are permitted as provender. Totally up to 25 %
of the weight of the provender can be field beans, field peas and extracted shreds.
- Up to 1 hectare of green maize as stock in cases of seasonal green-fodder shortage.
Exemption: Registered feedingstuffs in dry condition: non-molassed dry shreds.
Fertilization provisions:
The spreading of sewage sludge or its products and of compost from municipal solid waste on all agriculturally used areas of the dairy farm is banned.
Between fertilization and the use for fodder production a waiting period of three weeks is to be observed.
Application of chemical substances:
The area-wide application of pesticides on all fodder-fields of the dairy farm is not permitted.
The application of sprays against flies (diptera) in stables is only allowed when cows are not present.
Substances for udder disinfection have to be applied in a manner which excludes any contamination of the milk.
Milk delivering bans:
It is not permitted to deliver milk during the first ten days after the birth of calves or during the mandatory waiting period of medicinal products.
- Jagdberger hay-milk cheese:
The term “Jagdberger Heumilchkäse” is used in the context of the Austrian Regions of Delight for hard cheeses and semi-hard cheeses.
Jagdberger Heumilchkäse is produced from hay milk (silage free milk) obtained from dairy cows of the region. During summer the cows graze the plants and herbs on the mountain slopes and pastures. During winter the cows are fed with hay and corn produced on-farm.
Around 30 family farms in the municipalities of Schlins, Röns, Satteins, Schnifis, Düns, and Dünserberg deliver about 2.8 million kg of hay-milk to the two local alpine dairies annually. Milk is delivered daily and its composition and quality are controlled before further processing. About 320,000 tonnes of hay-milk cheeses are produced annually in the region.
Today a range of hay-milk cheese varieties are sold under brands like “Schnifner Bergkäse” or “Schnifner Laurentius”.
- Marketing
Jagdberger Heumilchkäse is marketed by “ARGE Heumilch Vorarlberg“, the local alpine cheese dairies, food retailers and the gastronomy.
Connection with the geographical area and Traditional Knowledge:
- Specific soil and climate conditions in the region of Jagdberg result in a richness of local native
alpine flora which enables extensive management of milk cows on alpine pastures.
- A strong link with the area: Milk cows are grazed on alpine plants and herbs and/or are fed
with grass and hay produced on the holdings.
- Traditional artisanal cheese production in small-scale alpine cheese dairies.
- The production of Jagdberger Heumilchkäse is the result of Traditional Knowledge passed
down from generation to generation: The Traditional Knowledge and expertise of dairy cow
farmers (adapting the management of herds to environmental constraints, the method of
keeping dairy cows in mountain areas, method of hay making, method of feeding with green
fodder and hay, avoiding using silage fodder) and of alpine dairies (production, ripening and
storage of cheese).
Utilization:
In addition to the production of hay-milk cheese, hay-milk is also processed into butter, curd cheese and yoghurt or is sold as high-quality fresh milk.
- Protection:
-
Key Words
Food and Agriculture, Traditional Knowledge, Austria, Vorarlberg, Jagdberg, region, Schnifis, milk, Hay milk, cheese, hay milk cheese, Jagdberger hay-milk cheese
Bibliography / References
- EHRLICH, M. (2006): Untersuchung von Molkereimilchprodukten aus Deutschland auf
gesundheitlich bedeutsame Fettsäuren (Omega 3, Omega 6, CLA) unter Berücksichtigung
des eingesetzten
Maisfutters; Universität Kassel, Witzenhausen, June 2006.
- GINZINGER, W.; KUPFNER, B.; TSCHAGER, E.; ZANGERL, P. (1995): Trockenschnitte als
Futtermittel für hartkäsetaugliche Milch; Milchw. Berichte 125, 184 – 186.
- GINZINGER, W.; TSCHAGER, E. (1993): Einfluss der Fütterung auf die Qualität von Milch
und Milchprodukten; Österr.Braunvieh 23, 4-6.
- MOREL I., WYSS U., COLLOMB M. (2006): Grünfutter- oder Silagezusammensetzung und
Milchinhaltstoffe; Agrarforschung 13, 228 - 233.
- Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, Chapter B 32: Milk and milk products
- Proceedings ALFA Annual Meeting 2001, 29 - 31 May 2001, Wolfpassing, 163 – 165.
- SCHREIBER, M. (2002): Gehalt an konjugierten Linolsäuren (CLA) in österreichischer
Trinkmilch unterschiedlicher Provenienz; Diploma thesis at the Federal Research Institute
for Alpine Dairying at Rotholz.
- TSCHAGER, E., GINZINGER, W., DILLINGER, K. (2001): Fettsäurespektrum des Milchfettes
in Abhängigkeit von Fütterung und Haltung.
- TSCHAGER, E.; ZANGERL, P.; SEBASTIANI, H.; KNEIFEL, W.; LANG, C.; LEGNER, H. (1994):
Organoleptische, technologische und ernährungsphysiologische Eigenschaften von Almmilch;
Milchwirtschaftliche Berichte 120, 152-157.
- Regulativ für Heumilch (Austrian Hay-milk Regulation)
http://www.heumilch.at/die-arge/heumilchregulativ
- A. NIEDERSTÄTTER A., TSCHAIKNER M. (ed.). Das Gericht Jagdberg. Von der Einrichtung
1319 bis zur Aufhebung 1808. ELEMENT.WALGAU Schriftenreihe Band 4
http://www.vorarlberg.at/pdf/niederstaetter-tschaikner.pdf
- Zur Geschichte Jagdberg
Doz. Dr. Tschaikner, Vorarlberger Landesarchiv, personal communication, 7 April 2008
- LEODOLTER S., WINKLER S.(2008): Käseimpressionen aus Vorarlberg. In: Genuss käse.pur,
02/2008, 32 - 35
- ARGE Milch Vorarlberg:
http://www.heumilch.at/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=79
- Der unbekannte Jagdberg:
http://www.vorarlberg.gv.at/vorarlberg/geschichte_statistik/geschichte/landesgeschichte/ausstellungendesvorarlber/_derunbekanntejagdberg_/_derunbekanntejagdberg_.htm - Klimadaten von Österreich 1971 – 2000: Feldkirch
http://www.zamg.ac.at/fix/klima/oe71-00/klima2000/klimadaten_oesterreich_1971_frame1.htm
- Die forstlichen Wuchsgebiete Österreichs: Wuchsgebiet 2.1: Nördliche Zwischenalpen –
Westteil
http://bfw.ac.at/300/1185.html
- Die Produktion:
http://www.sennerei-schnifis.at/pages/produktion.html
- "Ländle Apfel" und "Jagdberger Heumilchkäse" bereichern die Vorarlberger Genuss
Regionen
http://www.bauernzeitung.at/?id=2500%2C38214%2C%2C
- Pröll: Vorarlberg wächst um zwei Genussregionen
http://presse.lebensministerium.at/article/articleview/69801/1/21507/
- Sennerei Schnifis und Umgebung:
http://www.vorarlbergkaese.at/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=47
- Schnifis
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnifis
- Vorarlberg
http://aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at/aeiou.encyclop.v/v885304.htm
- Vorarlberg - Hinweise
http://www.tiscover.at/at/guide/5,de,SCH1/objectId,RGN15at,adviceObjectId,ADV472147at,folder,ADVICE,season,at1,selectedEntry,hint/hint.html
All internet references last accessed on 21 October 2008.
Language Code
German
Product of www.genuss-region.at
Yes
Regional contact
Peter Dünser
Sennerei Schnifis Reg. GenmbH
Jagdbergstr. 84
6822 Schnifis, Austria
Phone: 0043 5524/2588
E-mail: office@sennerei-schnifis.at
Authors: Mag. Doris Reinthaler, Mag. Eva Sommer, Dr. Erhard Höbaus
08.04.2011, Lebensministerium III/4