Transition from races bred for milk to ones bred for meat is inevitable

In our country there is a sharp necessity and favourable conditions for developing races bread for meat, as well as a free market niche in EU for biological cattle-breading.

Zheni Vladinova

We have a significant cattle meat deficit.  The cattle meat available in our country comes almost totally from the offspring and discarded heavy animals bred for milk – with poorer growing ability, of poorer quality and bigger expenses for fattening.
The alternative is to begin a process of transforming the poorer productive herds bred for milk to ones bred for meat. In the language of the specialists it means a process of deliberate and

 
SYSTEMATIC CROSS-BREEDING COWS BREAD FOR MILK WITH BULLS FROM RACES BRED FOR MEAT

And in the third and forth generation the population will already be of a milk type. This breeding activity is compulsory for the small cattle-breeding farms, which will not be able to change their structure in effective milk productive farms. Entire and universal cross-breeding of their cows with bulls from combined races is obligatory – Simental with the Brown Race and mainly with the specialized races bred for meat – Aberdin Angus, Limousine, Charlotte, etc.
If the farmers preferred to build biological farms the pattern of Bulgarian cattle-breeding would change considerably. This is the position of cattle-breeding biofarm “Biologica” proprietor Damian Vatev.

"BIOLOGICA" PRESENTED THE FUTURE OF THE BIOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE AT HOME

at the international specialized exhibition “Mesomania”". At the same time Young European Meat Committee - YEMCo took place, concerning the conditions of the European meat industry after the Eastern countries integrating to EU.
Damian Vatev began his analyses on the condition of the meat industry and more specifically on the cattle breeding in Bulgaria, quoting the Ministry for Agriculture and the Food Agricultural Report from 2007. The data shows that the number of farms and the cattle, sheep, goats and pigs kept in them dropped drastically during the last year. The cattle breeding farms number is 138,400 which is 13.1% less than the period, surveyed beforehand. The cattle number in them decreased with 4.2% and for 2007 they are 602, 100. The statistics shows that the average number of animals in each farm is hardly 4.4. According Mr. Vatev

THE CATTLE BREEDING FRAGMENTATION INTO A LARGE NUMBER OF SMALL FARMS

is an obstacle for its development in Bulgaria. Moreover all cattle breeding farms in Bulgaria are specialized in milk production. The lack of races bred for meat in cattle-breeding is the reason that a large amount of the meet products at home are produced from imported meet.
The suggestions of “Biologica” to solve these problems are connected with

MULTIPLICATION THE ANIMAL NUMBER IN THE FARMS

transition from races bred for milk and butter to races bred for meat, encouraging the cattle, biologically bread for meat in the mountainous and hilly regions and stimulating the conventional cattle bred for meat in the plains.
The result of Damian Vatev’s efforts to accomplish these changes is the farm for biological pasture cattle breeding for meat with different races animals bred for milk. The establishing of “Biologica” in the end of 2006 as a company filial to the meat products manufacturer TANDEM has a purpose to strengthen the position and guarantee the high quality of the meat products with the TANDEM brand, offered to the Bulgarian market, through launching to it comletely new series of products. Thus the meat processing enterprise will close the food chain.

FROM THE FARM TO THE FORK

each level is under control – each animal, the transportation, the slaughterhouse, the meat processing, the packaging, the meat products storage to the market and the consumers.
The farm is situated in the sub-Balkan village of Damianovo on 200 hectares of pastures (at 700-800 meters altitude), certified as biological, and on 350 hectares of farmland (at 400 meters altitude), of which 110 hectares are certified as biological. It has a certificate issued a year before establishing that the farm

PESTICIDES HAVE NOT BEEN USED

nor inorganic chemical fertilizers or chemical substances for plant protectionhave been applied. This fact makes the hilly region of the village of Damianovo perfect for the breeding of 280 heads of cattle. The two pure-breed bulls Limousine with French origin stand out among them, which, fertilizing the brown American cows, are used to clear up the races bred for milk and transfer then into races bred for meat.

WHAT IS THE BRANCH SITUATION IN ROMANIA

 
During the conference the comparative analysis between Bulgaria and Romania showed the numerous small farms are problem for our north neighbour, too. In 2007, 72.4% of the farms bred 1-2 heads, which means that 3/4 of the farms breed the cattle in their yards. According to Romanian Meat Processor Association statistics meat consumption in Europe has increased in the last 10 years, but the newly accepted countries consume about 10 kg less than them. In 2008 the amount of meat consumption in the old EU members was approximately 105 kg per capita and in the new ones – about 95 kg per capita.

THE RESEARCH OF THE CATTLE BREEDING FARMS IN POLAND

shows completely different pattern from the one in our country. For nearly ten tears – from 1996 to 2005 in Poland enlargement of the cattle breeding farms in the country was accomplished, which, according Damian Vatev should be done in Bulgaria, too. If in 1996 in Poland farms with 1 to 4 animals (28.5% of the farms) predominated, in 2005 most farms had 20 to 40 animals (28.5% of the farms).
In “Biologica” Damian Vatev works out the topic of the biological agriculture at home, following the analytical approach of YEMCo, which in the last few years transformed into a leading organization of the type "think tank", giving advice and ideas on public, technological and trade problems. YEMCo is member of UECBV – European Livestock and Meat Trading Union. 200 young managers are members in this youth organization representing about 15,000 trade and industrial companies from the cattle breeding branch and meat industry in Europe. UECBV is represented through its members – the national federations.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN

First of all a state strategy and programme is necessary to outline the directions, as well as the methods and means for its realization in the next 10-15 years. The main kernel and source for breeding stock should be the pure-breed and the cross-breeding of races bred for meat.