Swiss Agriculture and Ancestry

Beni Gasser started farming in 2008. His 120 head, all registered, include 60 cows of Red Holsteins and Montbe’liarde French breed. He utilizes AI, raises his own herd replacements and sells the remainder. The new barn measures 190 feet long and 100 feet wide. With a robotic milking machine, labor requirements are lower and there are more flexible hours.

The distinct sound of cow bells in the Swiss Alps is a sign of the presence of grazing animals. Known as the Treichel or Kuhglocke, they are hung around the neck of each cow and are one of the most recognizable symbols of Swiss farming culture.

In Switzerland two-thirds of all the farms have disappeared in the last 30 years. However, Thomas Gut, maintains a positive outlook. His farming background includes a 15-year apprenticeship. He raises 80 to 130 Texel sheep. This genetic line has become a dominant terminal-sire breed of sheep in Europe and the US because they produce high quality meat and feature great lambing and maternal instincts.

Robert Stamm (left) took over Emmerhof farm from his father. When he retired it was sold to Doris and Walter Stamm. The couple, who met while attending agricultural college, raise 150 acres of wheat, barley, triticale, canola, corn for silage, sugar beets, and clover hay. They say that rolling hills and small fields are challenging to farm.

The chicken enterprise for Doris Stamm, which totals 170 laying hens, features a movable building that reduces labor chores and helps boost the health of her flock. While climate is not a major issue in their operation, in 2025 Swiss farmers will not be allowed to use pesticides.

Relics from the bygone era of dairy farming/cheese making dot the landscape. This concrete water tank from 1869 on Feldhof Farms is still a popular spot during long summer work days.

Pastures are rotated and feature a mix of English rye grass and white clover. No commercial fertilizer is applied. The daily ration is a mix of 70 percent grass silage and clover, 20 percent corn and hay, 5 percent concentrates and 5 percent in hay scraps. A combination of liquid and dry manure goes onto the fields. (Beni produces under the Organic Farming label).

Farming systems and management practices are evaluated with practical reference to susceptibility to erosion, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, soil quality, biodiversity and climatic impact.

In Schleitheim sculptures in stone and iron by Hans Russenberger are placed in strategic places around the village. A new creation, ‘de Laaterwaegelibueb’ of a young boy taking the milk to the dairy now spans the creek winding through the center of the village.

A burst of creativity seems to play a distinct role in Swiss culture. Practical as well as off-beat knickknacks come from wood, tree trunks and stumps. They are often displayed near a door way or steps.

Archaeology in the region dates from the Stone Age to the Roman period. The area of today’s Schleitheim was already settled in Roman times. From 15 BC to 70 AD, wood buildings were replaced with stone. By 300 AD there were power struggles among the people and since the Rhine River was an obstacle, they eventually left the area.

Schleitheim is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen located directly on the northwestern border with Germany. The area covers 8.3 square miles, with 58.6 percent used for agricultural while 36.9 percent is forested. The name means, “Settlement on a gentle slope on the inclined plain.”

After the Congress I checked in with Robert and Marianne Stamm to learn more about agriculture in their locality and to visit the area where my great, great, great, great, great grandfather was born. The couple are retired Swiss Canadians who live in Schleitheim, near the German border. They were grain farmers in Alberta. She grew up in northern British Columbia and works part time as an agricultural journalist.

When Jacob, a member of the Reformed Church in Switzerland, immigrated to America, arriving in Philadelphia on the ship Mercury, May 29, 1735, his last name was changed to Perdsinger and later Persinger. The original chapel, where he grew up, was built in 1597 and replaced with a new church in 1731 and upgraded in 1756. The walls and roof were redone in 2008-2009.

Space for graves and monuments is limited on church property. Finding old stones is rare because after 20 to 30 years they are removed and the site is made available for the next generation.

Zumikon originated in the year 946 AD from a hamlet named Zuminga. At the start of the 17th century, the population was just under 100 individuals and most of them were farmers. It is now a small town, consisting mainly of wealthy residents, instead of farmers. Jacob Bertschinger, (my ancestor) was born there in 1715.