Spannocchia
Niccolò Merighi
Farm manager
Farm name
Spannocchia
Farm type
Mixed-Farm
Location
Tuscany, Italy
Farm size
430 hectares
Primary soil type
Clay soil
Temperature range
-4° – 38° degrees Celsius, USDA 8B
Average precipitation
900 mm/ year
Social structure
Farm business and agrotourism with limited liability
Sales channels
Direct sales through own restaurant and farmshop, direct sales of meat to retailer
Produce
Hospitality (80% of farm), olive, vegetables, wine, honey, meat, and wood
Contact
The Southern Light Farm
Spannocchia Farm‘s transition to regenerative farming
Climate Farmer since
2025
Previously organic
Previous practices
- No-till
- Mulching
- Composting
- Shifting from organic to “natural” wine making
Investment costs
- Cow manure and wood chips (around 400€)
New practices
Compost tea
❍ Composting & Bio Fertilizers
Permanent beds
❍ Minimal Soil Disturbance
Cover Crops
❍ Cover Cropping
Intercropping
❍ Minimal Soil Disturbance
Mulching
❍ Water Cycle Restoration
Animal rotation
❍ Rotational Grazing
Keep living roots
❍ Minimal Soil Disturbance
Challenges so far
- Slugs are the biggest challenge
- Water & rain management (lots of rain pressure or not enough rain)
Outcomes so far
- Much easier to plant and to plan
- Better soil structure
- Increased biodiversity
- Less pest
- Increased yield
Learnings of your journey
The best learning has been the fact that respecting the microbiology of the soil has proved to be the best way to increase yield.
“Knowledge exchange is at the core of Spannocchia activities. We believe that the practices implemented here make sense only through sharing; the goal is not just to grow vegetables but most importantly raise awareness around food production and show ways of farming that are in tune with nature.
To operate in this way is a humbling practice that makes the nexus between human beings and nature even more obvious.”
— The reason why Spannocchia decided to become a training farm
Future ambitions
Transform all beds into permanent beds
Improve rotational grazing of the pigs
Increase the complexity of the system (introducing trees and other plants in the vegetable garden)
Develop a food forest
This farm is part of something bigger.
So can you. Apply for the Regenerative Agronomy Training.
Our partners
Our partners
