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Custòdia Agrària, GOB Menorca’s Land Stewardship programme, has just expanded with a new farm. With the addition of the estate of Binisserralla, located in the municipality of Es Mercadal, there are now forty farms committed to sustainable agricultural production that respects the environmental and cultural values of the Menorcan landscape.
Binisserralla, covering around eighty hectares, is located along the Camí de Tramuntana, an old rural road that crosses various sections of high scenic and heritage value. The wind after which it is named has shaped a rugged and undulating landscape, with vegetation dominated by shrubs, wild olives, Mediterranean heather, and typical Mediterranean garigue. The cultivated fields, bounded by traditional dry-stone walls and fences, have had to contend with a clayey and rather stony soil.
Almost a year ago, the area was seriously affected by the DANA storm that struck Menorca: the land was flooded by the downpour and the estate was cut off when the bridge crossing the stream at the entrance was severely damaged.
Passion for artisanal cheese
This is where the goat cheese known as Es Tonedor is made. The name, meaning ‘shearer’ in Catalan, comes from the profession of Carlos Vélez Izquierdo, the farmer at Binisserralla, who has lived in Menorca for nearly twenty years and also shears sheep.
The cheese he produces is of high quality, semi-cured, made from raw goat’s milk using traditional and artisanal methods. In addition to this product, there are plans to create a creamy, pasteurised cheese.
Rustic breed goats
The estate has a herd of about 400 goats, including does and kids, of the Murciano-Granadina breed. This is a rustic goat variety adapted to the Mediterranean climate, with moderate milk production.
Binisserralla operates without chemical fertilisers or herbicides. No antibiotics are used on the livestock. Part of the water used on the estate comes from two cisterns that collect rainwater from the roofs of the buildings. The goats graze freely across the land.
The Es Tonedor cheese project represents a synthesis of livestock knowledge and environmental care.
Farmers with a future who care for the land
The Land Stewardship Scheme is an initiative that promotes voluntary agreements between landowners and GOB, aiming to foster farming practices that enhance biodiversity, reduce environmental impact, and reinforce the landscape and cultural values of the Menorcan countryside.
The Land Stewardship label recognises both agricultural products obtained in an environmentally respectful manner and land management that is committed to the territory. This approach seeks to contribute to a viable future for farming, enabling people to make a dignified living from the land through quality products with added value.
With this new addition, the Land Stewardship Scheme continues to grow and consolidate a network of farms committed to respectful, rooted, and sustainable agriculture.