Wild Farm sells about 250 calves per year with average weight of 140 kg. The price per 1 kg live weight is
3,20 BGN or 1,63 EUR. The main incomes come from Measure 214 and sub-measures for Organic pastures and
Traditional livestock breeding scheme ( rare breeds). Some of the incomes farmers invest in purchase of land. For
the first time they received payments under this measure in 2012 for a two year period (2011-2012).
Blagovesta(Betty)and NikolayVassilevs have been owners of the only farm certified for organic meat in Bulgaria so
far. “We can rightfully be recognized as guardians of this local breed. It is threatened with extinction resulting from
wrongful policies of the past. By laying the emphasis on the Bulgarian Black Pied Cattle for dairy production in the
first place, we have neglected some traditional breeds and they have now become scarce. The new black pied cattle
live no longer than 3 to 4 years. To obtain a litre of milk around 450 L of blood should be pumped through the heart
of the cattle. You can imagine what that means. That is why they haveso short lives. By contrast, the shorthorn cattle
we rear live up to 28 years, believe it or not!”, Betty specifies.
Local traditional breeds are the fittest for economic organic farming. For feeding animals they use not
concentrated fodder. These breeds need no antibiotics as they boast strong immunity. In Wild Farm cattle are bred
by grazing freely throughoutthe year– just like in ancient times. These cattle are very clever. They gather their
offspring in small groups and three or four cows take care of them throughout the day – just like in nursery school.
In this way they take turns. In case of wolf attacks, cows and bulls form a line of resistance and make sure they
protectthecalves. For protection of cattle from wolf attacks, the Vassilevs rear a dozen dogs from the local breed of
Karakachan. For centuries Karakachan dogs have tackled wolf attacks in the best possible way.
It is interesting to find out why Wild Farm is the only farm in Bulgaria certified for production of organic meat.
The problems are many and easily slip into a vicious circle. In the first place, as a result of the controversial agrarian
reform in post-communist Bulgaria, most cattle farmers do not own land and they could not create bio certified
pastures. To certify a pasture they should have either property or land leased by them for at least five years. Now the
government has been trying to encourage local authority to lease out mostly uncultivated lands to farmers. Another
problem is the lack of slaughterhouses for certified organic meat. “So far there have been no certified farms for
organic meat, so slaughterhouses have not been keen to invest in certificates as well as building special facilities for
organic raw materials”, Nikolay Vasilev, Blagovesta’s husband explains. Thirdly, there is no consistent central
government policy to encourage organic animal farming. “Cattle breeders get nothing from the European financing
earmarked for agriculture”, Betty comments. This might be taken into consideration in the next EU program,
notably2014-2020. In the meantime, Wild Farm has option to export its animals abroad, in countries that have
slaughterhouses for organic meat. The best market is Italy where fresh organic meat is mainly delivered to
kindergartens and schools. The same is true for Albania.
The basic activities, which find application in the farm, include animal interaction (mainly with horses, caws
and sheep) for children, youngsters and adults with different health problems, as well as participation in agricultural