Twelve farms in Menorca, among the best Friesian breeders in Spain

Conafe, the Confederation of Friesian Associations in Spain, has published the list of the best breeding farms in the country. And, 12 of these farms are from Menorca. These qualifications highlight the excellent work done on Menorcan livestock farms, which compete with large farms on the peninsula, especially in Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia. It is worth noting that, of the twelve in Menorca, five are in the top 50 positions, with Son Vives (Ferreries) being the one that scored the highest, coming in sixth place. In addition, Catalina Pons, who runs the Son Quart farm and is also president of FAGME, highlights the fact that the number of outstanding livestock farms on this list has almost doubled compared to the previous year, highlighting the work done on the island.

AN EXTENDED RANKING

At the end of January, Conafe published the list of the 100 breeding farms with the highest qualification. To be qualified, farms with 17 or more breeding cows, with 85% of the cows aged 36 months or more qualified, with a percentage of less than 5% of the Auxiliary Register A on the breeding census, and a minimum of 10 animals born and qualified, were considered. The qualifications ranged from 87.71 for the Gan. Diplomada Badiola S.L farm in Asturias, in first position; to 82.83 for the Casa Celedonio farm, in the same community.

While the list of the 100 best breeding farms in 2003 ranked seven farms in Menorca (Son Vives, Arenetas, Son Usina, Bini Llubet, Son Quart, Algendar d’en Gomila and Son Piris), the 2024 ranking includes the farms of Son Alzina SRM, La Trinitat, Torretrencadeta, Torre den Quart, Binialcalà and Son Bou Vell; while Son Usina is removed from the list. The most notable case, however, is that of Son Vives, which in 2023 was already in 16th position and, this year, rises to sixth. They have been on this list for about five years. But how do they do it?

THE WORK OF SON VIVES, A REFLECTION OF THE EFFORT OF THE MENORCAN FARMERS

Joan Coll Fullana runs the Son Vives farm, in Ferreries, together with his brother Geroni. They are also owners of the farm, and they assure that they have cows because they enjoy them. “We do it as a hobby, it’s what we like and we do it with pleasure. I like to have cows that are good, I enjoy the work more, and right now we have a very well-compensated ranch.”

“We don’t have any financial compensation, but this type of recognition is a satisfaction because the annual work is valued; and not only this year, but the work that we started doing 10 years ago, because they describe us as the best breeding livestock. The selection and choice of bulls and cows is not a two or three year process, but much longer”, he says.

“Even so, with Jeroni, the brother, we find that we have come a long way. Seeing ourselves among the 10 best breeders in Spain is a great joy. In fact, our goal is to stay within these top ten and move up.” He knows that it is an objective that does not only depend on them, and that it is possible that there are farms that improve in a short time and can obtain a higher score. But Joan shows confidence and, above all, drive to be able to maintain this very good score. “Having more than 85 points is a very big merit”, he assures. Especially, if you compare the 46 breeding herds -about 60 heads of cattle-, with the large livestock farms in the north of Spain, where there are hundreds on a single farm.

COWS WITH THEIR OWN NAME

The name of Son Vives also rings in March, during the Friesian Cow Morphological Competition that is held on the weekend of the Fira del Camp in Alaior. This is the case for 100% of the farms that have entered the list. For example, in Son Vives they have been the second best breeder and best young champion cow for two years in a row. The same goes for Son Quart, which has won several awards in the Alaior competition. But it has taken another step this 2024 by going to the national competition together with the Binialcalà farm.

“It is different that all of us on the list go to the morphological competition, which already shows the taste we put into it”, says Catalina Pons. It is also significant in the Menorcan breeding map to see that, of the 12 places that have entered the Conafe list, 8 are from Ciutadella. “This shows the tradition that we have in the municipality of maintaining the countryside and working with the Friesian. Although we have one place in Maó, two in Es Mercadal and one in Ferreries which are also very well rated. Work is done well where there is passion, and this list is an example. And, at the same time, a push to keep going despite the difficulties”.

It is this passion that both Pons and Coll point to that makes good animals come out. And it is quite an art. According to Catalina Pons, a good part of the work is the eye when it comes to crossing bulls and cows. “The same bull will not be good for all cows, we have to choose well to obtain the best results. We try to make the best possible matings, in order to improve the breed.” But she also points out that obtaining good animals is also a matter of putting in the desire. “It is our bread and butter, and having better cows means moving forward. The passion we put into it also plays a big part.”

MENORCA IS NOT NORTHERN SPAIN

Cutting distances with large livestock farms in northern Spain, where working conditions and resources have nothing to do with Menorca, adds merit to the work being done here.

As Joan Coll says, “we have to grind a lot of stones here, if we compare ourselves with the livestock farms in northern Spain. There, the farmer is dedicated only to the cows. Here we have to milk, make cheese, plow, sow… The work is very different, and we should not take credit away from them or put it on us, but it is true that the conditions are not the same.”

They are comparable, however, very high results, which for Catalina Pons augurs a good future for the Menorcan Friesian.