Quality & Origin of our Bergader specialities
High quality requirements, consideration of sustainability aspects in our business activities as well as a close relationships with our dairy farmers are very important to us.
Our Milk
Rolling hills and lush green meadows set against a backdrop of alpine mountains: The Bavarian Alps and foothills are home to many cows that supply us with the milk for our various cheese specialities.
As a Bavarian family-owned company, we work closely with our dairy farmers. It is important to us that this partnership is built on reliability, fairness, and mutual respect. After all, high-quality milk is shaped not only by where it comes from, but also by experience, care, and a responsible approach to animals, nature, and the local region.:
- Our contract farms supplying Bergader with fresh milk are located around our two production sites in Bavaria. We have maintained close and long-standing partnerships with many of these farming families for generations.
- We pay fair prices for the milk to offer our farmers long-term prospects.
- Short transport routes of 20 km on average from the farms to our cheese dairy benefit the environment and ensure the freshness of our milk.
- Bergader milk comes from dairy cows that enjoy exclusively European feed, with no genetic modification.
Our farmers
All our dairy farmers contribute their personal commitment and vast experience to ensure that we process only high-quality milk.
Our cheese dairy has enjoyed strong collaborations with our milk supplieres for decades, partnerships are handed down from generation to generation. Our farmers also play an important role in preserving the typical Bavarian cultural landscape.
Animal Welfare
Only healthy animals can produce high-quality milk.
That is why we place great importance on actively supporting our dairy farmers in implementing measures to improve animal welfare on their farms. We greatly appreciate the commitment of our farmers in this regard. Each of them is committed to ensuring that their animals are well cared for. And we reward this commitment.
Flexible solutions are essential, as every dairy farmer is, in the short or long term, bound by the individual conditions at their location. For example, one farm may have the opportunity to let its animals graze on pasture because the land is located directly next to the farm. At the same time, however, an unresolved succession situation or regulatory requirements may prevent the farmer from building a modern loose-housing barn.
Bergader supports commitment to animal welfare
In addition to a fair milk price, all our farmers receive premiums for higher-standard forms of animal housing. Milk qualities that exceed legal requirements are rewarded with additional premiums. Our mountain farmers in particular work under more challenging conditions due to the altitude and, in some cases, steep slopes. The additional workload is also rewarded with a premium that takes the type of animal housing into account. We continuously develop our premium models further.
Quality & Certificates
The consistently high quality of all Bergader speciality cheeses has always been a major part of our company philosophy. We manufacture our products according to international quality standards and subject these products to stringent monitoring.
Strict Quality Management
As the first cheese dairy in Germany, we obtained certification under the standardised DIN EN ISO 9001 quality management system more than 25 years ago. This helps ensure that all our employees maintain a strong focus on quality every day.
Our two production sites in Waging and Bad Aibling are audited and certified annually according to the latest standards such as the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). In this way, they meet the high requirements of retailers and consumers.