BovINEBeef Innovation Network Europe
BovINEUnicarve is an Italian association of beef cattle producers founded in 1989 as the result of the merger of three regional associations in the North East of Italy, where more than 40% of beef production takes place. Its task is to bring together the largest number of beef cattle farmers in order to allow their participation in the technical and economic activities of the association. It gathers over 800 associated beef producers which are involved in different levels of quality and traceability systems. In particular, of all 800 producers, 730 farms participate in the voluntary quality labelling system according to Regulation 1760/2000 and 400 farms joined a Regional beef production label “Verified Quality” which at a national level is equivalent to “National Quality System”.
Along with farmers, Unicarve collaborates with 23 qualified feedstuff producers, 23 qualified slaughtering/cutting plants, and 112 qualified sales points (butcher shops and small to medium supermarkets). Unicarve aggregates farmers producing yearly on average 280,000 beef cattle, over 90% of which are young bulls or heifers, with the remainder represented by veal calves. In terms of commercial development, Unicarve has promoted the national beef plan, which is based on three “pillars”: – the National Quality System and the “Italian Seal” mark – the organization of a 100% Italian supply chain – the establishment of the Interprofessional association for the private collection of funds, to support the entire chain of production.
Unicarve maintains active contacts with the public authorities of regional and national governments, national working groups and associations. In 2007 Unicarve founded Italia Zootecnica, an association which brings together most of the other important Italian beef association in which also the BOVINE partner CRPA participates.
Unicarve will work with CRPA to form an Italian beef network to identify Italian beef farmers’ priority needs, identify good practices, and facilitate knowledge exchange between farmers and academic experts in Italy and between Italian and other European farmers trans-nationally. Thus it will operate across WP3-6. It will participate in WP7 (Comms, Dissemination & Capacity Dev.) to ensure effective dissemination of research results to end-users and to communicate about the project at national and EU level to a range of stakeholders including farmers, industry and policy makers. It will be involved in WP2 (Network formation & Multi-Actor Approach) (providing insights as a producers’ association and also availing of training) to ensure an effective multi-actor approach within BovINE. Thus, the role for Unicarve in this consortium will consist of working with ILVO, and other producer associations within Italia Zootecnica to organize local activities (such as demo days and study days), to set up local networks (stakeholders and discussion groups) and to disseminate the results of and communicate about BovINE.
Alessandro Mazzenga, Quality and Labeling Systems Manager, has a degree in Agriculture Science at the University of Padova and a PhD, specialising in Animal Science. Alessandro manages a group of technicians and vets to verify the respect of requirements of voluntary traceability and quality labels, across all operators, farmers, beef processors and selling points.
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Please address all mail to:
FAO: Maeve Henchion
The BovINE Project
Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre
Dublin 15
D15 KN3K
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 rural
renaissance programme | Project No: 862590 under call H2020-RUR-2019-15