MENSCHEN INTERNATIONAL 1
MENSCHEN INTERNATIONAL 1 3 twine used. Among the long-term steady customers are, for example, the stables of the mounted police in Milan and Turin. Here, the practical MultiBale bundles are highly valued. The streets leading to the small stables in the middle of the large cities, and even more so the storage areas, are difficult for vehicles to negotiate. Lucia’s husband, Pierluigi Bertello drives with trailer and telescope loader through the cities to deliver the hay and stack it in the stores. Thanks to the easily handled forage packages, the riders can share out the feed optimally and easily ration the horses’ feed. The police appreciate the advantages: “More flexibility in handling and less risk of dirt getting into the feed.” Additionally, the MultiBale principle allows the police to do without any further handling machinery and equipment, such as a wheeled loader. PIEDMONT SPECIALITIES Part of the hay and straw harvest is needed by Lucia and her family for their own animals. In their barn are housed around 20 Piedmontese beef cattle. The family don’t use maize silage for feeding. To Lucia’s philosophy for welfare-based husbandry and towards producing quality beef belongs the rule that no more than five animals be housed together in a pen. The calves are taken from their mothers at three months old, as early as practicable. The Piedmontese breed has an interesting history. In the 16th century, the Black Death took its toll in this region. One reaction by the community of Turin was to introduce a bylaw banning the breeding of pigs, thus helping the establishment of beef - and the Piedmontese breed. The 38
2 1 Lucia Dentis runs a farm shop where she sells meat products from her own cattle, as well as bought-in wares. 2 Oreste Dentis (l) with his wife Guiseppina Zanetti and daughter Lucia Dentis (r) with husband Pierluigi Bertello and their children Giulia, Davide and Fabio. 3 Piedmontese food specialities are simply delicious! 4 The Dentis family own Piedmontese beef cattle, the meat from which is marketed in the farm shop and through a cooperative. 5 Hay in “MultiBales” is in high demand from the Dentis customers. enjoying Italian hospitality at a long table. Served alongside bread and grissini are typical regional dishes such as tatar, veal in tuna sauce and filled tomatoes. Not to forget: a good glass of wine. GREEN CLASSROOM Sustainability plays an important role for the Dentis family so it’s not surprising that the Cascina Grange Scott also opens its gates for kindergarten and school classes. The farm is officially recognised as an educational facility. Here, Lucia Dentis wants to bring children closer to a farmer’s craft and daily work, and to the natural cycle of food production. The farm as platform for active teaching: observation and discovery. During the seasonal cycle, the schoolchildren undergo a type of course. Among other things, painting takes place, covering everything that nature offers. 4 advantages of these cattle include meat with a high lean content, large hind quarters and, in the front quarters as well as the rear, a strongly emphasized muscularity. The beef colour is rosé. When the cattle on the Cascina Grange Scott reach 600 to 700 kg they are shipped to the slaughterhouse, ending up back on the farm in the form of carcass halves for jointing and further processing. The beef is marketed in the farm`s own shop. Lucia sells an average three carcasses per month there. Prior to Christmas the demand for good meat is highest, she reports. Alongside home-produced beef and home-made maize flour products, Lucia sells further meat and sausage products, cheeses, pasta, wine and other foods in the shop. A cooperation with two other farms make this broad range of offerings possible. The farms are organized as a cooperative – short farm-to-sale distances and freshness of food are important to the Dentis family. In the evening, we are treated to a tasting of the home-produced products and culinary insight into traditional Piedmontese cooking. After work is over, we sit outside 5 Believed, above all, is that contact with the animals must be made possible for the children. Even although the family believe strongly in their Piedmontese beef breed, it wants to demonstrate the variability of nature to their young guests. So their Piedmontese cattle share their quarters with other breeds – and geese, hens, a horse, a pony and two donkeys. To round off the variety, Lucia thinks of introducing guestrooms on her farm. However, first of all, the grain and hay harvest is more important as well as the farm shop and the farmyard school. INFO Incidentally, you can access a video of this report via the QR code or accessing the link: krone.de/xtrablatt-videos. 39
