Valerio Abbiate

My name is Valerio Abbiate, I live in the countryside of Guiglia with my partner and our magnificent Newfoundland Magalie.
The company that I run alone with the seasonal help of some collaborators during planting and harvesting periods covers about 50 hectares divided into various plots in the municipalities of Guiglia and Zocca at an altitude between 500 and 800 meters above sea level on the Modena Apennines.

It has always been a passion of mine to search for processing techniques that aim to restore and preserve the structure and fertility of the soil, such as the abandonment of plowing with versoio, preferring techniques that finally today even the academic world is beginning to consider by “inventing” conservative agriculture. The need not to confuse organic farming with the replacement of a chemical pesticide with a reduced one allowed in organic farming leads me to make my work a lifestyle choice. My idea of organic agriculture assumes, for example, that if I want to cultivate a cereal, it must be an ancient cereal and not a modern variety that, even if not GMOs, is still poorer in organoleptic qualities and with very high amounts of gluten, at the origin of so many allergies that occur today. It is a point of pride for me to be able to say that today none of my products end up on the banks of Large Organized Retailers (supermarkets) even if this involves a great effort of diversification and planning during production and storage and a great commitment to contact, reach and directly supply GAS, specialized stores and cooperatives of organic producers of historic and proven reliability. In addition to cultivation, with the aid of specialized machinery, I also deal with the selection of legumes, cereals and medicinal herbs. The potato is my company's main product. I cultivate the yellow variety Cicero and Almera and the red variety Desirèe in particularly suitable land that falls within an area delimited by the chamber brand “Patata di Montese”. My potatoes are available from September to June and are characterized by their very compact pasta and a very intense aroma. Chickpeas and lentils are available all year round in bulk (at least 10 kg) or in packs of 500 g. I also grow cereals and medicinal herbs that I don't store at my farm so if anyone is interested they should contact me in the summer before harvest.





The Modena Apennines are Valerio's “home”. Area renowned for potatoes.