Buša is an old autochthonous breed of cattle that has been present in this region (the Balkan Peninsula) for thousands of years. The generations of our ancestors were raised consuming the meat and milk of Buša that survived in the toughest conditions and was the dominant breed of cattle until the sixties of the last century, when more intensive breeds such as Holstein and Sementalac overtook. These intensive breeds give much more milk and meat in a shorter period. However, they live much shorter in conditions they are raised today. Holstein lives for five years on average and after that it either dies or becomes useless for further breeding due to hoof or udder diseases. Buša gives less meat and milk, but of a much better quality and also lives a lot longer – 25 years.
Our Buša herd is located on the Stara Mountain, in the village areas of Smilovci and Krivodol. Animals are bred in the cow-calf operation. They are fed year-round on the pastures and, in addition to that, they are given hay from the local meadows and pastures in winter months. In search for fresh green grass, the herd goes from lower altitude (700 meters) to higher (1200m), and vice versa in the second half of the year.
The cows themselves choose what they will feed on. Searching for food they walk about ten miles a day. They graze on fresh green pastures, along the streams and rivers, although they prefer the rocky slopes of the Stara Mountain, where the vegetation is scarce but abundant in medicinal, spicy and aromatic plants.
Cows give birth themselves, without any human intervention. A calf can stand on its feet in the first hour or two after calving and starts following its mother. They begin to graze early and they also suckle in the course of the entire season (8 to 10 months) until the next reproductive cycle of the mother. The annual increment of calves thus grown is from 80 to 120 kilograms. This is several times less than in the aforementioned intensive races, but the meat is of a much better quality. Analyses conducted at the Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology in Belgrade in the last two years show that the Buša meat from our livestock is of the best quality on the domestic market. It is rich in vitamins and minerals, it has a specific taste with a balanced ratio between Omega 6 and Omega 3 unsaturated fatty acid, which is 2:1. Today this ratio can only be found in the meat of some northern seas blue fish. In the case of feedlot cattle, this ratio is 6:1, up to 10:1 in pork and 15:1 to 30:1 in chicken meat in favor of Omega 6. This is the consequence of an inadequate diet of these animals since they are unnecessarily fettened with corn and soybeans that are abundant in Omega 6 fatty acids. It is only natural that cows are free to graze in the sun and not to be closed in the facility and fed cereals and soy in concentrates and quantities that are not available in nature (not to mention various antibiotics and added hormones).
Our body cannot synthesize essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, they must be included as such in our diets. The most favorable ratio between Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids for our organism is 2:1. Nowadays we intake too much Omega 6 fatty acids which vegetable oils and cereals are rich in and our diet lacks Omega 3 which is found in meat, milk and eggs. However, dairy obtained from industrially grown cows, pigs or poultry also contains too much Omega 6 fatty acids which leads to disorders in our metabolism and the emergence of many so-called modern diseases.