Markus Götsch born in Silandro in 1999

He grew up and lives on the family farm Oberhof am Bach in Val Senales. His brother raises dairy cows and Markus takes care of his 30 sheep. He leases the pastures at Rofenberg in Ötztal and spends the summer with about 1,600 sheep, most of which come from the Vinschgau Valley. Talking with him is a real pleasure because he communicates that passion for sheep that drives him to spend three months on the pastures at high altitude (in the winter months he is a mason). But as he himself says, “what you do with passion is not a job.” He does not suffer from loneliness, in part because he has a trusty dog to keep him company and help him steer such a large herd through rough terrain. One thing that worries him, and is currently on everyone’s lips, is climate change, which in his case manifests itself like this: where glaciers retreat, wet basins filled with fine sediment and sand often form. Sheep like to visit those sites, perhaps because they offer coolness, but it happens that the legs sink into those “quicksand,” the fleece gets soaked in the heavy sediment that dries in the sun, and the beasts, without the help of shepherds, are no longer able to get out and die miserably. However, he also plans to continue this activity because he is convinced that meat from sheep and lambs that spend the summer grazing pristine grasses is the absolute best, and he hopes that consumers will learn to appreciate and honor this high-quality product.