On 11th Tuesday February, the first training day of 2025 on the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed and the promotional programme dedicated to it took place in Saint-Gaudens and the neighbouring villages of the Haute Garonne region in France.
Invited by Asprocarne Piemonte and France Blonde d’Aquitaine Sélection, the beneficiaries of the three-year information and promotion project co-financed by the European Union, the event was attended by several professionals of the beef industry engaged, in different ways, in enhancing the quality of this beef and in supporting the project on the European excellence of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed.
Face to face with the experts
The day began with the institutional greetings delivered by Pierre Burgan, President of France Blonde d’Aquitaine Sélection, and Franco Martini, President of Asprocarne Piemonte. The participants, mainly farmers, had the opportunity to delve into the “Blonde d’Aquitaine: European Beef Excellence” project with Project Manager Alessandra Torino of LC International, who illustrated the objectives and future prospects of this ambitious programme that has been ongoing for last 5 years.
The Blonde d’Aquitaine in Italy and France
A special focus was devoted to the beef market. During their presentation, Simone Mellano, Director of Asprocarne Piemonte, and Lionel Giraudeau, Director of France Blonde d’Aquitaine Sélection, compared the data showing the position of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed in relation to the other cattle breeds available on the French and Italian market. Raphaël Béteille, apprentice engineer of the Association Éleveurs Blonde d’Aquitaine, then displayed the results of his interesting research which, by crossing pre-existing data, highlighted the importance of genetic selection in order to have higher-quality finished products, a benefit for breeders but also for the whole production chain.
The quality of meat
Another central topic of the day was the importance of choosing high-quality beef, addressed by Elisa Guizzo, an expert in the meat supply chain. Her speech underlined the importance of educating consumers in this regard, so that they can be aware when it comes to eating habits and support sustainable and certified production, such as that implemented by the farmers associated with Asprocarne Piemonte and France Blonde d’Aquitaine Sélection.
The event continued with lunch prepared by La Boucherie paysanne des Pyrénées, where dishes based on Blonde d’Aquitaine meat were served and appreciated for its superior quality.
The day ended in the afternoon, after the participants had the opportunity to witness what had been described during the morning by visiting the GAEC Duprat farm in Pointis de Rivière, where it was possible to see at first hand the breeding and management practices of Blonde d’Aquitaine cattle. In short, this was an event that offered networking, training and learning opportunities for breeders and beef industry experts.
You can find the experts’ speeches here:
