FARM VISIT ▶▶▶
Producing top-notch cheeses in Normandy
French dairy co-operative Isigny-Sainte-Mère works closely with Normand farmers to ensure milk of the highest quality is available to produce their award- winning cheese, butter and cream.
BY MELANIE EPP, INDEPENDENT FREELANCE JOURNALIST N
While many of their products have been given the PDO status, it’s not just the region that makes these products so special.
ormandy, France was once home to one of Eu- rope’s largest wetlands. When the sea retreated in the 16th
century, what it revealed was a rich, clay soil, perfect for grass production. It’s on this land
that dairy cooperative Isigny-Sainte-Mère earned its reputa- tion for its award-winning cheese, cream and butter. And while many of their products have been given the special Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, it’s not just the region that makes these products so special. Award-winning dairy products, after all, start with quality milk and exception- al udder health. Because quality is of the highest priority to the cooperative, Isigny-Sainte-Mère works closely with its farmers to ensure they deliver only the finest milk.
Minerals give unique flavours Isigny Sainte-Mère’s story begins with the land. Thanks to a combination of regional factors – salty seawater combined with fresh water from the Cotentin peninsula and the Bessin marshes – the local climate in Isigny region is both mild and
damp. Here, Normande cows graze on pastures rich in miner- al salts and trace elements. These factors are what give Isigny Sainte-Mère’s butter, cream and cheeses their unique fla- vours. Those unique flavours are what earned the cooperative PDO designations for their salted butter, Camembert, and Petit and Grand Pont l’Evêque cheeses. Milk for Isigny Sainte- Mère PDO butter, for instance, can only be produced and col- lected in a roughly 3,500-square km region around Isigny-sur- Mère village, explained Simon Frileux, marketing and communications specialist for the cooperative. It’s part of what the French call ‘terroir’ – or “the taste of place.” Forage rations must consist of 40% fresh or preserved grass, and the cows (Normande breed or otherwise) must graze at least sev- en months of the year. Fodder has to consist of 50% Isigny grass, and 80% of the herd’s basic ration must come from the geographical region. It may be composed of grass, maize, ce- reals, straw, alfalfa, as well as fodder beet, root vegetables and dehydrated beet pulp. Supplementary feeding is limited to 1,800 kg of dry matter per cow per calendar year.
Focus on milk quality Compliance with PDO regulations means that milk collection must take place every 48 hours, calculated from the first milk- ing, not the last. At the time of receiving, the acidity of the raw milk must be between 14 and 16° Dornic and between 6.6 and 6.85 pH, explained Emmanuel Heroux, who is in charge of collection at the cooperative. Genetics play a role in the quality of Isigny butter’s as well. Milk collected to make the butter must come from a herd composed of at least 30% Normande dairy cows. Part of this has to do with the preser- vation of the species, and part has to do with milk quality. Farmers are well compensated for providing quality milk with low cell counts. Categories are as follows: A+ = <250,000 SCC, A = 250,000¬–300,000 SCC, B = 300,000–400,000 SCC and C = >400,000. Of the 450 collection points, 65 produce A+ quality milk, said Mr Heroux. When quality falls below 400,000 the milk must be destroyed and collection from that point is halted. The first time a farmer tests above 400,000 SCC, milk collection is halted for six days.
Bacteria and butyric acid To assist the farmer, Isigny Sainte-Mère calls in a veterinarian to see where the farmer can improve production through
8 ▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 5, No. 4, 2018
PHOTO: MELANIE EPP
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