PODERE DEI FIORI

We can trace a sort of Via Francigena for cattle raised by the Vigna family: the ideal starting point is represented by the Domaine de Longeville in central France which hosts, located in the Allier hills, one of the most important groups of Aubrac breed suckler cows in Europe. From here and from the other French production sites, the calves are sent to the two Piedmontese centers of Cascina Ca ‘d’Olmo and Cascina Volta in Alessandria for the northern market and the two Tuscan centers of Ontaneta and Terzi d’Ombrone. , in the Grosseto Maremma, for central Italy. In the various farms, calves and heifers of the best French breeds and their crosses are bred: Limousine and Aubrac first of all but also Charolais and Blonde d’Aquitaine.

The latest market challenge taken up by the Vigna group is represented by the rediscovery of Italian meat breeds. In particular, thinking about the peculiarities of the ancient Maremmana breed in purity or cross, it has launched an original quality path which, through special structures and feedings, enhances subjects considered obsolete on the zootechnical level, giving consumers original flavors and sensations.

The company is located in the heart of rural France, in the Allier, a region of production of meat animals. The property is made up of stables and countless pastures where a few hundred cows graze with their calves.

Once the little ones have grown up, they are partly destined for reproduction and partly fattened and transported to the Cà d’olmo for the Italian market. The meat of the fattened cows, very tasty thanks to the right infiltration of fat, is intended for lovers of the best entrecôte in Paris. In the Domain de Longeville there is an ancient house transformed into Chambres d’hotes dedicated to the hospitality of those in search of tranquility and contact with nature. Visit the site of the Chateau de Longeville.

The recently acquired farmhouse, located on the top of a hill on the outskirts of Fubine in the province of Alessandria, was used for the reception and weaning of most of the animals from France.

Here the animals are prepared for the fattening phase and are fed with the best hays produced no more than 15 km from the Cascina before moving on to a unifeed ration. Furthermore, Cascina Volta has recently acquired the qualification of Educational Farm conferred by the Piedmont region, a qualification that allows it to host schools and groups of visitors who are interested in deepening their knowledge of good farming practices.

In the past it was one of the most important farmhouses in Alessandria with its 200 hectares of land mainly cultivated with corn and wheat.

After the purchase in the 1980s, the facilities for the breeding, the feed mill and the silos were built. Over the years, Cà d’Olmo has become one of the cutting-edge centers of Italy, remaining an example of sustainability and improvement of farming techniques.

I Terzi is an estate of about 600 hectares located in the municipality of Cinigiano, in the hilly area of ​​the Tuscan Maremma.

The company is immersed in the Mediterranean scrub interrupted here and there by olive groves, meadows, and pastures with protein crops, fences, and stables in tuff designed to integrate perfectly with the Maremma landscape.

Biodiversity, clean air, and the remoteness from industrial sites and highways make this area a paradise in which to develop breeding, even in the wild, of native breeds and their crosses. In this farm and in nearby Pietratonda, the animals born on the spot and those coming from the territory of the Tuscan and Lazio Maremma are raised.

The recently built complex, perfectly integrated with the nature in which it is immersed, is located in one of the most beautiful areas of Tuscany, among the woods and meadows of a water-rich valley called Dei Fiori in the Ontaneta area.

Respecting the beauty of the surrounding area, this farm was built according to a design aimed at obtaining a minimum environmental impact. The canopies built to climb are divided by a barrier consisting of olive trees and oleanders. The facilities are dedicated to the fattening of Limousin females, animals with tender and tasty meat, a quality product intended for Tuscan consumers, notoriously good connoisseurs of meat. The company has a visitor, conference and meat tasting center available and functioning at the disposal of Coop members and schools.

To complete the production chain, the company contributed to the construction of a modern facility near Grosseto and the fattening centers. The logic is to limit the stress associated with the long movements of the animals which could penalize the quality of the meat. Inside this structure, a brand new meat processing and cutting plant has recently been completed. From the initial design, all the phases related to the completion of the plants were shared and approved by the veterinary service of the Local Health Agency. The same control service regulates the daily activity inside the slaughterhouse.