Organic Dairy

 
 
 

Vocabulary

bull	crucial	calf/calves
straw	humane	treatment
herd	stable	surrogate
slab	slip	concrete
grass	meadow	get out of my way
graze	leisure	interruption
roam	grain	dig deeper
flow	circular	closed-loop
loop	recycle	small scale
scale	convince	standard
boost	field (2)	concentrate
yield	deliver	supplement
secure	cattle	conservation
ensure	eliminate	mozzarella
proper	turnover	participate

 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 

Transcript

Sometimes the boss has to be a surrogate father.

He wants his calves to grow into happy cows.

Ludolf von Maltzan believes in humane treatment. There’s plenty of straw in the stables. And a bull who is crucial to the development of the herd.

The cows here tend to live to more than seven years old; on standard farms, it’s just four.

Ludolf von Maltzan, Brodowin Organic Farm Director: “I think that our cows are really happy. They’re free to move around the stable. And they are not always slipping on some great big concrete slabs because there’s straw.

So the animals can get out of one anothers’ way. They have enough room. And they’re taken out to the meadow every day, where they can graze on fresh grass.”

In other farms, the cattle spend the whole day in stable.

Here they can roam about in their leisure.

Another difference here is that their feed comes from the farm.

Ludolf von Maltzan: “Here in Brodowin part of our agricultural concept, is that we grow all the grain for the dairy cattle’s feed here on our own fields.

Overall our aim is a circular flow economy. It’s a closed-loop system. Everything on our farm is recycled.”

For Ingo Kurths and the 200 cows he milks, the day begins at 4 am.

Organic farming is necessarily smaller scale than standard farming. A cow in Brodowin produces eight liters of milk less than on standard farms.

Ingo Kurths, Dairy Farm Worker: “For a start, our homemade fields isn’t supplemented with concentrates that boosts yields.

It’s just feed.

And when it’s finished, it’s just finished.

So that’s why the cattles’ yield is lower than in other farms.”

The farm is located in a conservation area. Once they have been milked, the cows are taken back in the stable.

The milk is delivered straight to the customers.

Customers include a number of schools and kindergartens.

And even though Brodowin milk is twice as expensive as supermarket milk, many are convinced, it tastes better.

The customers are prepared to dig deeper into their pockets.

Iris Semmling: “It comes from local farms and local cattle. And it’s delivered door to door, which means less interruption of refrigeration.

It really is fresh.

Millions were invested in this new dairy, which helped secure the farm’s 80 jobs.

Brodowin’s products include cream cheese and mozzarella.

Ludolf von Maltzan, Brodowin Organic Farm Director: “Having an in-house dairy eliminates many processing steps. It allows us to participate ourselves in the whole process.

The fact that we even delivers our products to the customers directly eliminates another step in the process.

It means we have control over everything, from production to customer contact.”

The farm’s dairy products are sold in organic stores like this one at the farm itself, ensuring the Brodowin Farm an annual turnover of seven million euros.

Ludolf von Maltzan knows that if he wants to remain successful, his cows have to be looked after properly.

Questions

1. Are the cows happier at the Brodowin Organic Farm? Why are they happy?

2. Where does the cattle fodder (feed) come from?

3. The milk is sold to large dairies. There is a middleman. True or false?

4. The Brodowin milk is the same as other milk. Is this correct or wrong? How do they differ?

5. All the milk is sold and used only as milk. Is this right or wrong? Do they transport the milk to cheese factories?

6. Are the dairy products sold in discount supermarkets?

7. What is Maltzan’s secret of success?

 

A. My friends and I would like to be organic dairy farmers. Yes or no?

B. Is organic farming and produce becoming popular in your city?

C. Are people willing to pay more for organic vegetables and dairy products?

D. Should governments and people do anything?

E. What will happen in the future?