The cows seemed a bit nervous –- some impatient to get back on the mountain after a long winter, others who would climb the hills for the first time, appeared scared.

Anka Lipušček Miklavič brings for everyone a long wooden stick –not for walking, but for herding those cows who would lag behind. Traditionally, the annual herding of cows in the mountains to the mountain pastures, which usually takes place on a Saturday in the second half of May, is one of the major events in these places where traditions are still alive.

And there is no better guide than Lipušček Miklavič, director of Planika Dairy, the fourth largest dairy in Slovenia, which generates around 9 million euros annually, has by far the largest redemption price for milk, and recently it has become a tourist brand and thus one of the key players in the tourist offer of the Soča valley.

Lipušček Miklavič works as a shepherd in the summer, but also a director, one of the more versatile and capable in the country. She milks the cows in the morning, then puts on high heels and goes to the office. "It's easier now, because we all take care of the farm and coordinate our work, but when our son and daughter still studied in Ljubljana, every day I had to run to the barn in the morning, then quickly shower and get ready to rush to Ljubljana for a business meeting," she explains.

Great responsibility to farmers
Since she feels a sense of belonging, being part of to the valley, she also feels responsible for all those farmers who are slaving away on their mountain farms. "I was asked not long ago what is harder – to be a director or a farmer, it's far more difficult to be a director because you carry such a huge responsibility. You know that so many farms and families are dependent on the success of the dairy," concluded the head of the Planika Dairy.