Viña Shotl Blanquita is a Friesian cow owned by Tino Rodríguez who, at thirteen years old, can boast of being the only one that has been classified as excellent a total of seven times. Her owner assures that she treats all her cows in the same way, but Blanquita has known how to stand out above the rest.
This Friesian, who has gone through nine calvings and has produced more than 140,000 liters of milk, last year was named reserve champion of adult cows in the regional championship. From Casa Viña, in Albandi (Carreño), Blanquita is not the first star cow of the Carreño cattle ranch, where other names such as Viña Jasper Cuca and Viña Tempo Alhambra have stood out.
“It is not usual for cows with these characteristics to come out. Good genetics is important, but for a cow like this to come out is difficult,” Rodríguez declared for La Nueva España. However, nothing is the result of chance, rather “daily work, good nutrition, cleaning their beds, adequate infrastructure for their rest… We fight to have good cows and a good structure”, explains the farmer.
At Casa Viña Blanquita it coexists with another 180 specimens. This family started farming decades ago, as a family farm that has been maintained from one generation to the next, something very common in rural areas of Asturias, and twenty years ago they decided to become professional.
Rodríguez explains that “before you survived with few cows, but now you need a much larger number if you want to be profitable,” reports La Nueva España. At Casa Viña they also produce their own fodder, which allows them to save a lot of costs.
According to the farmer, if the price per kilo of feed is above that of milk, “we have a problem.” He appreciates that currently the situation is not worrying and adds that “we are not so bad, the liter of milk is being paid for about 60 cents”.
His passion for livestock comes from his father and he tries to do the same with his daughter Yoane and his nephew Iván. Rodríguez declares that “young people have to be excited, that they see that we do a good job and that it is rewarded. It is when they realize that this is professional that they become interested. My daughter, for example, wants to be a veterinarian,” he says. The New Spain.
