Hitzesmermer: More cows must be slaughtered

Today it's raining. But drought in large parts of Switzerland changes little. Affected are mostly farmers. They must water their fields a lot more. And drought also has consequences for animals. "The drought is noticeable in the slaughterhouse market, and other cows are coming onto the market," writes the business paper "Schweizer Bauer" in its current issue.

The reason: Because of the drought there is Too little food. "About a fifth of our cow's annual ration has been destroyed because of the heat," says Ernst Bosshard, a 54-year-old farmer.The 54-year-old man runs a farm in Uitikon in Dietikon district in Zurich

"I have never experienced that!"

The food supply is currently so rare that cows eat hay, which is intended for the purpose. "I have never experienced that," says Bosshard, who has to replace the losses with purchased food – an expensive affair: the farmer will have to pay from 100 to 150 francs a day to supply all the food. 25 stables of 25 cows.

Bosshard has decided to reduce his stock if the situation does not improve. "We will have to take one to two cows to the abattoir from the beginning," says the farmer. His neighbors would be similar.

But this could have consequences: a short-term oversupply is threatening, the price of meat is falling. Therefore, the Swiss farmer does not call all cows to be sent simultaneously to the slaughterhouse. Better a graduation.

Costly Purchase of Food

As in Switzerland, peasants are sending their cows more and more to slaughter in Germany. According to "WirtschaftsWoche", the number of cows and cattle is 14 percent higher than in the previous year. The reason is also the food shortage due to dry weather.

Time also has a negative effect on the calf. Customers would have less desire for veal in the heat, the "Swiss farmer". However, according to a survey of the newspaper industry, the situation is not yet described as dramatic. Apparently, the demand for veal is still flattening during the summer holidays.

Posted on 28.07.2018 | Last updated 8 minutes ago