Tenuta San Carlo
Ariane Lotti
Farm manager
Farm name
Tenuta San Carlo
Farm type
Arable farm with focus on rice cultivation
Location
South Tuscany, Italy
Farm size
480 hectares
Primary soil type
Clay soil
Temperature range
-2° – 36° degrees Celsius, USDA 8B
Average precipitation
800 mm/ year
Social structure
Food business (limited liability)
Sales channels
Production contract with organic retailer, 30% under own brand to local restaurants and stores
Produce
Rice (different variations), Wheat, Farro, Chickpeas, Fava Beans, Sunflower
Link to contact
Tenuta San Carlo
Tenuta San Carlo farm’s transition to regenerative farming
Climate Farmer since
2022
Previously organic
Farm history
- Great grandfather bought the land in 1936
- Mostly marsh land and pine forests on the land
- Since 1960 rice cultivation & livestock – the base of the farm
- Around 10 years ago Ariane took over
Previous practices
- Conventional rice and wheat farm
- No crop rotation
- Synthetic fertiliser application
- Herbzide appplication
Investment costs
- EU rural development funding (Supply chain project for market channels and production contracts)
- Storage capacity
- Precision technology (tractor & equipment with GPS and other technology)
- Seed broadcaster
- Basic mechanic weeding
New practices
No Synthetical inputs
❍ No Synthetics
Minimum-Till
❍ Minimal Soil Disturbance
Green Manure
❍ Cover Cropping
Animal Integration
❍ Animal integration
Crop Rotation
❍ Minimal Soil Disturbance
Interseeding
❍ Minimal Soil Disturbance
Challenges so far
- Social challenges with people who were working on the farm
- Local and national community told Ariane that She will fail
- Knowing a lot of other farmers in the US, helped with other perspectives and possibiliites
- Main obstacle was closed mindedness
- Not a lot technical support
- Limited human resources
Outcomes so far
- Soil is visibly improving
- Soil strurture is improving
- No pest problems
- Soil fertility is improving
- Profitability is higher
- Biodiversity (amphibians, insects)
Learnings of your journey
- Change takes time
- Adoption cycles are long
- You don´t need to change everything at once
- Be methodological to be economically viable
- Be flexible and look at the outcomes
“As the world goes in a certain direction, it has become more important to strongly reaffirm my own values around sustainable and regenerative land management as solutions to all the crises we face. Part of the motivation is to share our journey with people who are driven by the same values.”
— The reason why Tenuta San Carlo decided to become a training farm
Future ambitions
Integrate more training and leraning on the farm
Develop the farm store further
Agronomic:
- No organic fertilizer in rice
- Decrease tillage
- Integrate livestock
This farm is part of something bigger.
So can you. Apply for the Regenerative Agronomy Training.
Our partners
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