At 789 m above sea level, directly on the summit of the Col de la Croix between Saint-Ursanne and Courgenay JU, is the Domaine Sur-la-Croix, which belongs to the Basel Foundation of the same name.
Veterinarian and rider
“In 2007, all of the farm’s areas were mapped,” explains Anna Stäubli, head of the Lucerne-based planning office PÖL (Projects Ecology Agriculture), which specializes in nature conservation in connection with agriculture. “During this mapping, it became clear that the entire farm had historically been used intensively and that only a few areas had not been fertilized. The foundation then commissioned us to develop a more extensive strategy, which was implemented starting in 2009.”
Maia Saxer, a passionate veterinarian and competition rider, founded the Fondation Sur-la-Croix in 2001. For decades, this Jura estate was the center of her family’s life. Her father, Ernst Saxer-Stauffacher, a lawyer and notary, bought the business in 1933 and, together with employees and his daughter, expanded it into a model farm for raising pure-bred Simmental cows. When Maia Saxer died in 2004, her entire assets and business became the property of the foundation.
Operations are the foundation’s showcase
“The foundation was founded to promote agriculture in the areas of research, innovation and training,” says Matthias Hofer, who has been managing director of the foundation for 15 years. «This company is our showcase. Our guiding principles should be implemented here, and there is no question for us of working here in any other way than in accordance with the values that we uphold.”
For a long time, there was relatively intensive production on the Col de la Croix: potatoes, grain, artificial meadows and always cows. It wasn’t until the turn of the millennium that Maia Saxer decided to integrate ecological principles into production.
A young couple has taken over
Ariane Moser (26) from Bern and Silvan Schläfli (28) from Solothurn have been running the business since April 2024. The young farming couple convinced the foundation with a future-oriented concept that combines profitable production with the protection of biodiversity.
“We want to produce milk and meat,” explains Ariane Moser, “but we also want to do this with so-called extensive animal species. In this case, in addition to a herd of Swiss-Fleckvieh dairy cows, we now also keep Galloway cattle, a Scottish suckler cow breed that is ideal for raising calves that live with their mothers for 8 to 10 months.”
Contributing knowledge as an opportunity
The estate is 90 hectares in size, of which 60 hectares are agricultural land (LN) and 30 hectares are forest. “27% of our agricultural land is ecological compensation areas that we are constantly trying to improve,” continues Ariane Moser.
“But we also need good-quality and sufficient feed yields on the intensive areas. Silvan and I originally worked in consulting and training, so it is a great opportunity for us to share our knowledge and experiences about what can be done to combine production and ecology.»
Bring the farm closer to the population
“This corresponds to our guidelines,” emphasizes Matthias Hofer, “they are in the lease agreement. Basically, like the AGIR news agency, we would like to play a mediating role between agriculture and the non-agricultural population. Because there are many misunderstandings on both sides. We would also like to open up the business a little more, for example by starting a school on the farm program or offering overnight stays in the straw. Maybe also sightseeing and a small direct sale for hikers or cyclists. That hasn’t been the case enough so far, and as a foundation we want to show our agricultural principles to the non-agricultural world as best we can.”
Anna Stäubli from the PÖL planning office says about the results that have already been achieved: “As far as biodiversity is concerned, the company is not yet a model company, but it has achieved a lot: planting bushes, clearing the forest or sowing strips of meadows. Biodiversity is an important factor for the success of the business. The original concept has always been respected, and the most important thing is that the impact on flora and fauna has been scientifically studied for 18 years. In this respect, Sur-la-Croix is a model company.”
The estate is located between the towns of St. Ursanne and Courgenay on the Col de la Croix in the canton of Jura.
Jonas Ingold
