The Ampertaler Edelrind campaign starts on August 1st.
Breeders, butchers and restaurateurs work together.
The idea of the marketing comes from butcher-Obermeister Werner Braun from Wiedenzhausen, who has already tested how the meat of the animals is received by the consumers.
The response was consistently positive, said Braun.
Dachau - The project is supported by the recently founded regional marketing association Dachau trades.
Five butchers from the Dachau-Freising and Fürstenfeldbruck guilds as well as five farmers and restaurateurs from the region take part in the Ampertaler Edelrind campaign.
According to the motto “live and let live” everyone should have advantages.
Advantage for farmers: fair, adequate price for sustainably kept animals.
Advantage for the butcher: consistent meat quality and the unique selling point.
Advantage for restaurateurs: high quality and also the unique selling point.
Advantage for consumers: regional and high quality of butcher products and gastronomy offers.
After all, it is about animals that are fattened with GMO-free, regional feed.
Ecological circulatory system
Braun had the idea just a few kilometers beyond the Dachau district border, in Ried bei Mering in the Aichach-Friedberg district, looking for an innovative farmer in Josef Steber (33). Steber buys young female cattle, so-called heifers, from farms in which the young animals were with their mother cows until they were sold. Steber then fattening the heifers with their own feed in outdoor air-conditioned stalls, which offer 20 percent more space for the animals than required by law. All animals receive fresh straw every day and so do not have to stand on the controversial slatted floors. The manure is removed once a week and processed in the farm's own biogas plant together with other waste. What is left over then goes to Stebers fields as high-quality fertilizer - an ecological cycle system. Another advantage:The fields are not over-fertilized, says Steber.
“We want to sell at reasonable prices so that we can operate sustainably,” the farmer continues.
“We just saw during the pandemic how important it is to eat using regional products from farmers, bakers and butchers.
Imported meat often does not even come close to our standards. ”Three butchers already purchase Stebers heifers as part of the Ampertaler Edelrind campaign.
A little more expensive for the consumer
The farmer explained that the sustainable cattle fattening method is of course a little more expensive for the consumer in the end.
“But we live animal welfare,” adds Werner Braun.
"Ultimately, it's not just about animal welfare, but above all about consumer welfare."
The butcher-chief and deputy state guild master explains why he buys heifers in particular: "The heifers have great meat quality with the smallest fat deposits as a flavor carrier and fine-grained meat." That pays off in the quality of his products - and here is not just about Braun Meat and sausage products, but also the dishes in his “Huberwirt” tavern in Wiedenzhausen, which is pretty full at lunchtime.
The Free State's quality and origin assurance system for plant and animal foods from food production and processing, in short: "Tested Quality - Bavaria" (GQ), monitors everything.
Within this framework, each butcher and each farmer decides for himself what to produce for the Ampertaler Edelrind, emphasizes Braun.
Therefore, not only organic is required for the Ampertaler Edelrind.
And the butchers tried to market not only the steaks, but the whole beef, as was the custom in the past.
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