Trento, the two days in which breeders meet the city

An event that takes place every year. The aim of which is to bring citizens closer to the daily work of livestock entrepreneurs. And present their products

The marginality for the farmers of our mountain valleys must grow, and it can only do so by strengthening the alliance with large-scale distribution and the restaurant chain, all for the sake of those 240 young farmers who have chosen to continue in the difficult profession of mountain farmers in their family.
This is the strong message that emerged from the Round Table organized by Provincial Breeders’ Federation as part of the spring festival, held in Trento on 20 and 21 April. One of the two days desired by the world of breeders to bring breeders, their animals and their products together with the city of Trento.
A strong signal came from the marketing director of the Poli Group, Mauro Poly, who defined the agreement with the farmers as a strategic alliance: “Our group has always aimed at close collaboration with the territory in the valleys where our supermarkets are located”. He recalled how the cheeses, milk and meat produced by Trentino farmers are sold on the shelves of over 20 of the group’s supermarkets, but also many other products; there are 156 those with the Poli brand of Trentino origin and 8 out of 10 consumers buy them, but there is still room to grow. “There is still room for improvement”, also stated the president of the Provincial Breeders’ Federation of Trentino, James Broch. “This is the objective that the farmers are aiming for – the president strongly underlined – let’s not forget that thanks to the 40 thousand cattle we look after over 100 thousand hectares of mountain pastures with the consequent benefit for tourism, a key sector of the economy Trentina. Man, cow and territory are connected to each other”.
Concepts also reiterated by Sergio Paoli, director of Latte Trento, who spoke of the “strong product innovation that focuses decisively on quality that starts from animal welfare, given that we cannot compete on the quantity front with the plains which have very different production costs from ours”.

The quality of the milk is also fundamental for producing high-quality typical cheeses. This is something that, upon closer inspection, is precisely what the large-scale retail trade through the Poli Group is asking for.
Trentino milk is produced with dry Trentino fodder which represents over 60% of the diet, furthermore, using GMO free feed, this leads to higher costs which must be loaded onto the supply chain. “Our mission – continued Paoli – is that of food safety by focusing on constant checks on our products which must always be good, healthy and safe. The challenge of the future? Constant innovation, protection of the territory, use of sustainable energy and water resources including eco-friendly packaging.”

Focus on catering

“But the world of catering can also have an important role in a province like Trentino which hosts millions of tourists every year”, forcefully underlined the historic president of Trentino restaurateurs Danilo Moresco, president of Gestior (a consortium of Trentino restaurateurs) which brings together over 500 hoteliers and restaurateurs for whom it purchases products worth over 62 million euros every year. A constantly growing turnover.
The fact that Moresco believes in the importance of promoting Trentino products is also demonstrated by the fact that he recently opened a restaurant in which he uses exclusively Trentino products and consumers really appreciate them.
Of course, promotion supported by the province has an important role, as the councilor assured Giulia Zanotelli, and carried out by Trentino Marketing whose manager, Elisabetta Nardellipresented the strategic lines.

The role of young people? “We – he says Eleonora Cimin, president of the Junior Club which boasts 240 members representing 200 companies – we aim to carry forward the family businesses by developing them in close collaboration with the world of tourism and aiming to enhance the value of our products through large-scale distribution such as the Poli Group. We are all very committed young people, but also well trained as we demonstrated in the competitions held within the spring festival, which saw the young protagonists”.
In conclusion, Broch underlined the collective commitment to make the most of the products by doing their part, as a cooperation, and stated that he was very worried about the mountain pastures which from being a resource are becoming a problem, starting with the large carnivores.