Promotion of Hay Milk TSG and Cheese made from Hay Milk TSG in Germany

Hay farming is the original and most sustainable form of milk production. The milk comes from animals reared in traditional dairy farming. The main difference to other types of milk is that fermented feed (silage) is strictly forbidden. During production, hay milk farmers and processors adhere to the strict hay milk regulations. Compliance with their requirements is monitored by independent, state-certified inspection bodies. Aside from feeding methods, the hay mik regulations also define fertilisation requirements and extensive animal welfare conditions. They form the basis for the EU quality label TSG - traditional speciality guaranteed, which hay milk holds since 2016.

Location-adapted milk production using locally available resources, conservation of soil and water and the preservation of biodiversity are among the requirements of hay farmers, as are animal-friendly husbandry with grazing in the summer months and high product quality. Species-rich feed also affects the fatty acid spectrum of milk. Hay milk products contain around twice as much omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) as conventional dairy products.

Furthermore traditional feeding methods of hay farming have considerable benefits for cheese production, as the content of butyric acid bacilli, also known as clostridia spores, which is important for the production of long ripened cheeses.

Germany is the most important sales market for hay milk TSG. Therefore the project proposed aims to significantly increase the awareness of the EU quality scheme TSG and of the production method of hay milk on the German market.

The proposing organisations are ARGE Heumilch Oesterreich (Austria) and ARGE Heumilch Deutschland (Germany), independant organisations which unite under their roofs the majority of hay-milk farmers and processors in their countries.