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Agriculture

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Agriculture in the region is primarily focused on livestock and dairy cattle production. Almost all of the utilised agricultural area (UAA) consists of grasslands, either mown or grazed, within a traditional farming system where alpine pastures play a predominant role. The agricultural landscape is largely located in summer grazing zones.

DAIRY AND CHEESE PRODUCTION

Boilles avant d'aller couler

In the Pays-d’Enhaut, the base dairies in Château-d’Œx, Rossinière, Flendruz, and L’Etivaz produce central dairy milk. Produced in a silage zone, this milk leaves the region without any processing. The Moulins dairy cooperative, located in a non-silage zone, owns a cheese dairy converted to organic farming. An independent cheesemaker operates the facility to produce organic Gruyère PDO. The Fleurette cheese dairy in Rougemont produces specialty cheeses, including the now-famous Tomme Fleurette. Two farms in L’Etivaz and one in La Comballaz, operating with on-farm processing, produce and mature various specialty cheeses (most of them organic).

In Gruyère, all dairy production in the Park’s municipalities — entirely within a non-silage zone — is processed into cheese. The Montbovon cheese dairy produces and matures Gruyère PDO, Vacherin Fribourgeois PDO, and several specialties. In Grandvillard, the cheese dairy produces Gruyère PDO. Milk from the dairy cooperatives of Gruyères, Estavannens, Lessoc, Neirivue, and Albeuve is also turned into Gruyère PDO, but at the demonstration cheese dairy in Pringy. In Charmey, the cheese dairy processes and matures the cooperative’s production into Gruyère PDO, Vacherin Fribourgeois PDO, and several local specialties.

In Jaun, the cheese dairy processes the cooperative’s milk into Gruyère PDO and Vacherin Fribourgeois PDO. Milk from Abländschen is used for producing dairy products (milk, yoghurt, butter, sérac) as well as numerous specialties.

Laiterie de Grandvillard Laurent Python

Alpine pasture production

Vaches Neirivue automne

The Park’s municipalities lie at the heart of an alpine zone with an exceptionally high density of traditional alpine cheese-making. More than 80 alpine dairies produce L’Etivaz PDO, Gruyère d’alpage PDO, Vacherin Fribourgeois d’alpage PDO, and Berner Alpkäse PDO in over a hundred chalets.

This cheese production complements the milk output from base farms and is vital to the regional agricultural economy. These are high value-added products, matured locally and sold with a premium reflecting their specific qualities: alpine milk and authentic character. Moreover, their quality is guaranteed by PDO certification.

L’Etivaz PDO production is entirely matured in the L’Etivaz cellars, with output steadily increasing over the past thirty years. The cooperative has carried out several successive expansions of the maturing cellars, which now have a capacity of over 400 tonnes of cheese per season. More than 10% of production is certified organic. Part of this production is aged in the attic of L’Etivaz and sold under the name and PDO label Rebibe de l’Etivaz.

The Gruyère d’alpage PDO from the Pre-Alps and Vacherin Fribourgeois d’alpage PDO are matured by the Fribourg Alpine Cheese Producers’ Cooperative in La Tzintre (Charmey) and in Bulle.

An alpine cheese is also produced at Jaman in the municipality of Montreux. Its production is showcased in a demonstration cheese dairy — a renovated alpine chalet adapted for welcoming visitors by the municipality of Montreux.

Fabrication du L'Etivaz_Jean-Sam et Nicole Marmillod