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When the pastures on the alpine pasture have been fully grazed in September and the temperatures gradually drop, it is time for both people and animals to make their way down. We are at Alpe Latschätz to witness the preparations for the pasture drive. “It is a special day for the cows and the pasture workers – and both go down into the valley with a certain pride,” says Kathrin Häusler, a dairy farmer at Alpe Latschätz, about the riotously colourful return home through the Gauertal. After almost 100 days and a workload of, in some cases, twelve hours a day, there is a clear sense of joy that all the farm workers and animals have returned to the valley in a good state of health, but talking with the farmers almost reveals a little melancholy that the summer is over again. “The time is always much too short because in the spring we can hardly wait to get up onto the alpine pasture again,” explains Kathrin.
Video tip: Dairy farmer Kathrin and pasture master Franz on the traditional “Maja binda”
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