A visit to the dairy farmer

Martin Thaller is one of Bergader’s milk suppliers. His farm is located in the picturesque Bavarian Alpine Foreland and can look back on a long tradition. His grandfather and his father had also delivered milk to Bergader. The genuine trusting relationship between him and the cheese dairy persists to this day. Some 50 dairy cows are housed in the farm’s spacious and bright freestall barn, where they attentively observe the visitors. Along with fresh air and cubicles littered with straw, there are brushes the cows can use to scratch their backs - which they do with pleasure: All in all, a real feel-good atmosphere for cows. The feed - hay and grass silage - comes from the farm’s meadows.

Martin Thaller - a dairy farmer.

Once a day, Bergader’s milk van arrives to collect the fresh milk from the farm. The farmer is particularly proud of a very special award: His farm was awarded the “White ribbon of the milk elite” by the German agriculture association Deutsche Landwirtschaftsgesellschaft (DLG). It is awarded to farmers who have delivered top-quality milk for a period of five years. “To live up to this standard I have to work diligently 365 days of the year. I achieve it by using consistently high-quality feed, keeping to strict hygiene regulations when milking and taking time for my cows. After all, only healthy cows give top-quality milk,” Martin Thaller says.