EL VALLE DEL TOXA

The Toxa Valley boasts the highest concentration of farms in all of Galicia. These are the livestock villages of Silleda. Sestelo, in the parish of Escuadro, has ten residents and eight farms. The old sheds are being replaced by large barns, with shelters for agricultural machinery and enormous forage silos. Farms of concrete blocks, silos, and ryegrass meadows stretch as far as the eye can see. Seventy percent of Silleda's territory is occupied by meadows and mixed crops. A landscape designed for dairy farming. Val de Toxa Livestock Farm is located in Fiestras; a cooperative farm established in 2004 by six local farmers. This barn houses 380 Friesian cows. José started with a farm of twenty cows more than forty years ago; back then there were no quotas, no Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and farmers didn't have to worry about the price of diesel or feed. The world of farms has also changed.