The success of Ja! Natürlich and the associated realisation of the high standards goes hand in hand with close cooperation with local organic farmers. The Ja! Natürlich organic dairy cows have enjoyed year-round grazing since 2013 and, depending on the growing season, are ideally out on pasture or on the mountain pastures every day for at least 150 days. This has created an example of best practice, but the road to achieving this was long and full of hurdles. Domestic farmers were not always enthusiastic about these ambitions. The significant step of banning all tethering or combined husbandry clearly went beyond the legal organic standard. The welfare of the cows takes centre stage. Freedom of movement and contact with conspecifics are prerequisites that are created for animals in organic husbandry. ‘Our animals live freely and in herds, as is their nature. Cows are herd animals. This is why freely chosen social contact is one of the central elements of species-appropriate animal husbandry. It is particularly important to us to give them this freedom. Each animal can decide for itself when it spends time outdoors or retreats. This species-appropriate husbandry is not only a promise to our animals, but also to our customers,’ explains Andreas Steidl, Managing Director of Ja! Natürlich. The numerous dairy farmers in Salzburg, with whom Ja! Natürlich has a long-standing, good partnership with, understood these developments early on as a win-win situation and as crucial for the survival of agriculture in Austria.
Strong partnership for uncompromising freedom for dairy cows
Hans and Erika Saller-Kraft took over the Stefflmooshof farm in St. Johann im Pongau in 2013 and run it together with their children Elisabeth, Hannes and Andreas. Hans' parents had already decided in favour of organic farming in the early 1990s, and when they switched to Pinzgau Milch dairy in 1995, they began working with Ja! Natürlich. The Saller-Kraft family runs their dairy farm with 16 cows, mainly of the Fleckvieh, Pinzgauer and Holstein breeds, whereby the rearing of young animals on the farm and the sale of breeding cattle via the Salzburg Cattle Breeding Association is also important as a further mainstay. They confirm: ‘Our aim is to keep our animals in a species-appropriate way. Free range all year round is crucial, and contact with the animals must not be lost. The young cattle and some of the dairy cows spend the hot summer on the higher alpine pastures in our beautiful surroundings. All the ‘stay-at-home’ cows come directly from the barn to the pastures around the farm, where they are safe and well looked after and produce the best free-range pasture-raised organic milk. We appreciate that and we like it. With Ja! Natürlich as a long-standing partner, our tried-and-tested farming method is accepted and specifically promoted.’
Sustainable growth: organic milk is in high demand
‘In the 30 years of the brand's existence, organic milk has always been a mainstay of the Ja! Natürlich product range. The increase in dairy products and cheese has been around 9 per cent in the last five years and is evidence of customers' growing awareness of quality and sustainability,’ says Klaudia Atzmüller, Managing Director of Ja! Natürlich is convinced. At around 30 per cent, more than one in four drinking milk sold at BILLA and BILLA Plus is organic milk. This means that milk - along with eggs and yoghurt - is one of the products that is in particularly high demand in organic quality.
The journey of Ja! Natürlich milk's journey from the pasture to the breakfast table
‘It is clear that the high milk standards that Ja! Natürlich has developed over thirty years can only be realised in close cooperation with good partners. In addition to the organic farms, these are above all the dairies, with whom new paths had to be taken and solutions found - for example by collecting the milk separately. The many years of good cooperation with processing partners such as Pinzgau Milch is also crucial for the outstanding quality of Ja! Natürlich milk,’ explains Gerald Fischer, Group Manager Organic Raw Material Management and Quality Management at Ja! Natürlich. ‘Our mission is to provide people with the best possible milk. This starts with the species-appropriate rearing of the cows and ends with the strict controls during processing. We are proud to be a crucial link in this chain that ends at people's breakfast tables,’ explains Hannes Wilhelmstätter, Managing Director of “Pinzgau Milch”.
Operating in the cycle of nature
The dairy cows of the Ja! Natürlich farmers in Pinzgau feed primarily on a wide variety of grasses, clover and herbs that grow on the farm's own grassland, as well as additional grain from 100 per cent Austrian organic farming. Species-appropriate feeding contributes to the well-being of the animals and also has a positive effect on the quality and flavour of the milk. In addition, the species-appropriate, grassland-based feeding of cows is also more sustainable, as the arable land is not used for animal feed production and grassland is an excellent CO2 reservoir. Organically produced food is also significantly less contaminated due to the complete absence of pesticides.
30 years of innovation with responsibility
‘Yes, of course we are not resting on the laurels of the past. We are always looking to further improve our products and bring innovations to the market. The Ja! Natürlich milk of today is no longer comparable to that of 1994 - a great deal has been developed here too, starting with the stricter animal welfare criteria - such as year-round, round-the-clock free-range production - through more sustainable packaging materials such as the brownboard carton or the reusable milk bottle, to improved storage and cooling options,’ emphasises Klaudia Atzmüller, Managing Director of Ja! Natürlich. ‘We would like to thank all of our partners for their trust and support. Together, we will continue to work towards sustainable and responsible food production.’ The province of Salzburg produces 394,700 tonnes of milk every year, which is around 14 per cent of Austria's total. While only 19 per cent of milk production throughout Austria is organic, half of the total volume in the province of Salzburg is produced according to organic standards (source: Land Salzburg).
News from Salzburger Bio-Milch: Ja! Natürlich Sommerfrisch yoghurts from the end of April
The Ja! Natürlich fruit yoghurts are also made from the finest organic milk from Pinzgau. Ja! Natürlich avoids the addition of 100 per cent skimmed milk powder, which is often used in yoghurt production for a creamier consistency and would not be subject to declaration, but is a no-go for the quality standards of Ja! Natürlich quality standards. The addition of artificial and natural flavourings is also strictly prohibited in Ja! Natürlich yoghurts is also strictly prohibited. For many years, Ja! Natürlich fruit yoghurts, which alternate between four summer and four winter varieties, have been a public favourite for many years with their refreshing, fruity acidity. The new summer varieties will be on the shelves from the end of April.
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