Roswitha Braun keeps the rare Aubrac cattle on her pasture near Waxenberg and sells their meat.
The farmer always has animal welfare in mind.
Taufkirchen
- His eyes are more beautiful than those of the girls, say the shepherds of the Aubrac cattle, which they tend on the high plateau of the same name in France.
With their big black eyes, the cows greet farmer Roswitha Braun and daughter Julia in the pastures near Waxenberg.
But the eyes are not the only reason why the Brauns specialize in French cattle.
“The Aubracs are a tough breed.
The cows have a pronounced maternal instinct and are particularly well suited for keeping suckler cows, ”says Roswitha Braun.
It is nice to see how lovingly the cows take care of their calves.
Since around 30 animals, ten of which are suckler cows, are out on the pasture in all weather, the calves are born there too.
"When my husband has to provide obstetrics, it is sometimes not so easy," reports the country woman.
The Brauns have been keeping Aubrac cattle for around two and a half years.
At that time they switched to grazing.
In addition to their Simmental cattle, they bought three pregnant, thoroughbred Aubrac cows and a breeding bull, the Maxi.
"I researched for a long time, looked to see what suits us."
The 49-year-old is happy about the decision.
The trained bank clerk wanted to get away from being tethered for a long time.
“We really looked really hard at how we wanted to go from here,” she says.
The in-laws had still kept dairy cows.
Her husband works full-time as a master locksmith and continued farming as a sideline.
“I wanted to have something for myself again,” says the mother of two daughters, who gave up her job in the bank after the birth of her two daughters (eleven and 14 years old) and has already missed it.
Animal welfare has always been the top priority for the farmer. The Brauns have a close relationship with their animals. Several times a day you check on them in the pasture, and the cattle promptly all come running. It tinkles like an alpine pasture, because the animals have bells around their necks that the Brauns had made in the Allgäu. “Actually, they could be outside all year round,” says the farmer and shows photos of the animals on snow-covered pastures. "But if you want to go in, you can of course," explains Braun.
A cattle is slaughtered four to five times a year and the animals are then two to three years old. In order to expose them to as little stress as possible, Metzger Hofer from Inning comes to the farm with his trailer. “He always takes a lot of time, does everything with patience,” praises Braun. Of course, saying goodbye is difficult, "but when you eat meat, that's part of it, you have to be aware of that," says the farmer. She is comforted by the thought that the animal has led a good life on her farm from the first to the last breath. She takes the view: "Better to eat less, but high-quality meat."
Butcher Hofer cuts the beef in his butcher's shop.
He lets the pieces of meat hang out for at least 14 days.
The Brauns then pack these in packages.
“Quite fair, everyone should get fillet, but not only.” Because out of respect for the animal, the country woman wants to use everything from nose to tail as much as possible.
She would love to have the skin processed as well.
Through the “School for Life” and “Farm Experience” projects, she wants to sensitize children to the issues of agriculture, animal welfare and nutrition.
The first pure-bred Aubrac cattle will be slaughtered in January.
“We're excited about that, because the meat is considered very noble,” says the 49-year-old.
From January 2023, the Brauns farm will be certified organic.
